KH Birth By Sleep: Roxas's Story
by DarkFoxKit
Summary: There is a story that was not told in the games or manga. A story about Roxas, Sora's Nobody, and how his journey had affected three lives before he disappeared. Join Roxas as he goes through the adventures of the last three Keyblade Wielders and see what was not told before. If you could change the fate of three friends that needs to happen... would you?
1. Prologue: The Final Day

**DarkFoxKit: Hello there, dear readers! Look at that; I'm doing another co-op story with Key2DestNE! And this time we're doing a story with his namesake~ Oh and Donfyre, have fun on your next AN with me. ;P**

**Key2DestNE: *waves, grinning* Hey, what's up everybody? If you couldn't tell by my name and Fox's obvious namedrop, this story is about Roxas. If you don't know who he is… Well, where have you been, frankly? Go play the games fully before you read this! And Donfyre is another co-author of her's, be sure to check out their stories too!**

**DarkFoxKit: Yes, it is sort of a requirement to see all the games- well, maybe not ALL of them, but the majority, like Birth By Sleep, Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Kingdom Hearts II, and… I think that's about it.**

**Key2DestNE: Right- at least know the plot of each of these games before you begin! Got it? Good? Great! Now then, this is only the prologue- and this will also be one of our shorter… co…stories… *trails off, staring at 20+ chapters* …FOOOX! I thought we said this would be SHORTER!**

**DarkFoxKit: *rolls eyes* I never said that, I just said it was shorter compared to our anime-long fanfictions! Anyway, wanna explain what this story is about or should I?**

**Key2DestNE: I'll have the honors, thank you~ *DarkFoxKit rolls eyes again* So basically, we were talking about Kingdom Hearts, and we couldn't help but think- what would happen if a certain Nobody met his look-alike?**

**DarkFoxKit: Ahem! That's Roxas and Ventus in case you couldn't tell. And before you have any misconceptions about those two; NO, they are NOT the same person in this story. In some fanfictions they are, but this is NOT one of them! We're trying to keep it as close to canon as possible.**

**Key2DestNE: …ANYWAYS, that's what this story's about- we even filled in a couple plotholes for those of you who are as nuts about the series as we are. Try to figure out what they are when they pop up, and you might get a web-cookie!**

**DarkFoxKit: And yes, we can tell this is a very long prologue. The chapters are pretty dang long themselves, but they are, hopefully, enjoyable to read. Now, shall we do the disclaimer and get on with the show?**

**Key2DestNE: Of course! *walks over to a huge button* It's too bad you had to fire our editor- he's usually the one who types this bit!**

**DarkFoxKit: *glares* We never hired any- okay, we don't own anything, we just made up the plot and put it in, there.**

* * *

**Kingdom Hearts**

**Birth By Sleep**

**Secret Story: Roxas's Story**

**Prologue: The Final Day**

Roxas frowned as he came out from the alleyway that he called 'The Usual Spot'... His three best friends; Hayner, Pence and Olette just literally passed right through him as if he didn't exist, and they didn't see or talked to him. Troubled, Roxas looked around as if hoping for some answers.

_Mysterious enemies, mysterious voices, mysterious girl, mysterious Keyblade, time stopping at random and now I'm a ghost? What _other_ cliche things are going to happen to me this week?_ Roxas thought to himself as he suddenly found himself surrounded by those white things again.

Behind him, a man in a black coat with red spiky hair appeared in a dark portal. He sighed, speaking up. "Look at what it's come to, Roxas. I've been given these icky orders to _destroy_ you… if you refuse to come back with me."

"But… we're… best friends, right?" Roxas asked him, sounding a little unsure but trying to sound convincing. _Please, please let this work…_

Axel frowned a bit, scratching the back of his neck. "Sure… but I'm not gettin' turned into a Dusk for-" He blinked, looking at Roxas in shock. "Wait a sec! You remember now!?"

Roxas gave a small nervous look before nodding. "Y… yeah."

Axel sighed in relief, giving Roxas a grin. "That's awesome! But, ya know- gotta make sure and all. So… er…" He frowned in thought, crossing his arms, before a lightbulb appeared. "What's our _boss's_ name?" He grinned in excitement, looking at Roxas hopefully.

But this stumped the poor blond boy. _Oh great, now I'm screwed…_ "... Uh… um…" Roxas stuttered but couldn't give an answer.

"..." Axel's grin quickly turned upside down as he groaned. "Ugh… can't _believe_ this…" He glanced up at Roxas, seeing the boy quickly grab a stick and form the Keyblade. "Roxas… you don't have to do this…!" When the boy didn't give a response, he sighed, summoning his chakrams before beginning to swing them… and pausing mid-swing, frozen.

Roxas frowned in confusion when Axel suddenly stopped before standing up straight, realizing time had stopped around him again. _Again?_ Then he heard someone else's voice in his head, giving him a command. _**Roxas! To the mansion! The time has come.**_

The Keyblade Wielder looked up to the evening sky and shouted, "HAYNER! PENCE! OLETTE!" He just wished for this to be a bad dream, he just wished that maybe his friends would hear his call and come and wake him up… But no, this was reality… and he's stuck in it. Roxas looked at the frozen Axel one more time before running off towards the marketplace that leads to the woods.

As reality unfroze around Axel, he blinked, seeing Roxas was suddenly gone, and he frowned a bit. "..." He sighed, dismissing his chakrams. "...So the Roxas that _I_ knew is long gone…" He chuckled mirthlessly, shaking his head slowly. "Fine… I see how it is." He turned, beginning to walk down the alleyway.

Meanwhile, Roxas was being hounded by more of those weird white creatures, including some new and much more stronger and troublesome ones with these long and sharp dagger-like arms that would rapidly attack him. Thankfully, all his experience with the Struggle Tournament kept him alive as he hurried through the woods, hoping that he'll get his answers there.

As soon as Roxas arrived the gate, he saw a huge lock on it. Frowning, he tried to open it, but it was locked. "Oh come on! Don't call me and then lock me out!" Then a memory of Sora flashed into his mind, the kid holding out his Keyblade. "..." Roxas looked at the huge lock and at the huge key in his hand. "I wonder…" He jumped back a bit and pointed the Keyblade at the lock as those strange white creatures began popping up behind him. To his surprise, the Keyblade shot out a beam of light, instantly unlocking it. Without waiting for those creatures to attack him, Roxas hurried into the mansion, not seeing the man in a black coat coming up behind him.

Roxas opened the door, quickly closing it behind him. "I'm here!" he shouted, but got no answer. "... Where am I supposed to go?" he called out, but still no answer. Frowning, he decided to explore the place, maybe he'll find the one who called him there.

Those creatures were still attacking him, but Roxas managed to get rid of most of them as he entered a white room, seeing pictures that looked like they were drawn by a child. Still, he could tell they were of himself and that Sora kid from his dreams… One was a picture of him in a black coat, walking away from a dark city. "... Ugh!" he grabbed his head as a memory began invading his head.

* * *

***Memory Flashback***

_I was walking away from the castle. I've had enough of it, no more secrets, no more hiding, no more mindlessly doing what the Organization wants, I want to get out of here and find my answers. I walked past Axel as he was leaning against the wall._

"_... Your mind's made up?" he asked me as I stopped to answer._

"_Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know." I told him, as if he didn't know already since we just had this arguement._

"_You can't turn on the Organization!" Axel snapped._

***End of Memory Flashback***

* * *

Ugh… What… what was that? … Organization XIII… "They're a bad group…" Roxas said out loud, and his comment was answered by none other than Namine.

"Bad or good, I don't really know." Namine said, looking down. "They're desperately searching for something."

"And that is?" the boy asked her, giving a small frown.

"Kingdom Hearts." she answered almost instantly, and Roxas frowned at that.

The blond sighed, sitting down in the chair across from her. "Namine… Please, just tell me who this Sora is and why am I connected to him… nothing else matters anymore." he said sadly, having a strong feeling he may die soon.

"You are-" Namine began to say, but she suddenly began disappearing in data.

"N-Namine?" Roxas frowned in concern and confusion and suddenly, the man from the Struggle Tournament appeared before him.

"No amount of knowledge has the power to help you escape your fate." the man said to him as if looking down at him like some kind of diseased dog.

Roxas glared, growling in fury, "Maybe not, but even so, I want to know, I have the _right_ to know!"

The man spoke up, immediately letting his obvious dislike known towards Roxas. "A Nobody doesn't have the right to know, nor does it have the right to _be_."

"But _what is_ a Nobody?!" the blond boy demanded, losing his patience with this man.

The man didn't answer him, instead that guy in the black coat suddenly appeared before them, "DiZ! We're out of time, too many Nobodies!"

Roxas was about to demand what was going on when Namine suddenly came out of a black portal thing, and she seemed frantic. "Roxas! Nobodies like us are only half a person… But you won't disappear, you'll be whole!"

Roxas's eyes widen and he paled, hearing only half what she said. "I-I'll… _disappear_?"

"No more further outbursts!" DiZ snapped as he approached Namine.

The girl in white tried to explain, shouting, "No! You won't disappear! You'll-" DiZ grabbed her and tried to shut her mouth.

"Wait!" Roxas yelled, trying to stand up in the chair.

Namine continued to struggle, hoping to tell Roxas her message before DiZ takes her away, "Roxas! We will meet again! I may not know it's you and you may not know it's me, but we will meet again, someday soon, I promise!"

"No!" Roxas yelled as she was pulled into that dark portal with DiZ and the other guy in the black coat disappeared. "Wait! NAMINE!" But to his shock, it was too late… she was gone and he was left alone.

Not sure what else to do, Roxas picked up a crayon, almost as if he should. Feeling a tug towards the other direction, Roxas headed for the other room.

Roxas sighed, walking through the main area of the mansion and distractedly knocking aside the white creatures still chasing him. Finally, he reached the other room- the library. There was a table in the middle of the room, and to his surprise, a big drawing was on it. _…Wait… this was…! _He pulled out the crayon he had picked up, beginning to draw 3 symbols in the empty circles.

When he was done, the table began glowing, and he quickly jumped back, barely dodging a giant hole in the ground that appeared. "Whoa!" He slowly walked up to the edge, noticing a new kind of style unlike the rest of the mansion- this was white, more technology-based… and he kept feeling the tug grow as he walked down the stairs on the side of the hole.

Soon, he found all these monitors in the basement… For such an old mansion, it hides such advanced technology. It was almost like it could create an entire digital world… Suddenly Roxas's head began pounding in agony again, and he cried out in agony as he grabbed his head.

* * *

***Memory Flashback***

"_If you get on their bad side then they'll destroy you!" Axel snapped at me, but I only shrugged._

"_No one will miss me." I said with a sad smile. "We're Nobodies… we don't have hearts, no matter how much we want it…" I continued walking forward._

"_That's not true! … I would…" I heard him said sadly and I felt genuine hurt… or what I thought was genuine. I shook my head, now's not the time._

_Nobodies are beings who lost their hearts to the Heartless… The stronger the person's will, the stronger their Nobodies are. A really strong willed person's Nobody will be human and adopting their appearance from their original selves._

_I was born in Twilight Town, but I was completely blank… I had no memories of my human self, everything was nothing… I was nothing more than a statue. That's when Xemnas found me._

"_Do you want to have purpose?" I remembered him asking me. I was given… a name…_

"_Roxas…" I said as I saw the letters of a name he put in front of me. And I was given a black coat…_

"_A new you!" Xemnas said with a smile and I joined Organization XIII. My purpose? Because I could wield the Keyblade, I was to destroy as many Heartless as possible in order to collect the hearts and build Kingdom Hearts that would grant us Nobodies hearts._

* * *

_I was frustrated… after a year working with the Organization, I still had no answers to who I am or why only_ I_ could wield the Keyblade! There was… another reason, a much stronger reason, but I cannot remember what that reason was and it makes me feel even angrier and sadder._

_I just knew I have gained another Keyblade, wielding two; Oblivion and Oathkeeper. I had two goals in mind; destroy Kingdom Hearts Xemnas created and find Sora. Everything seems to be connected to Sora, so that means… when I find him I'll find my answers!_

_I wasn't able to reach the castle because I was soon intercepted by the impostor, but I learned his name is Riku. Riku was wearing a blindfold yet was able to see everything clearly. I ran up to the building he was on top of and threw Oblivion at him… I was surrounded by Neo Shadow Heartless and I needed someone's help to get rid of them._

_After we destroyed them all, we immediately turned on each other. I was angry, I was furious, this enemy before me… he did something, I know he did, something that made me drown in sorrow and anger, despite having no heart, it sure felt real to me and I hated it!_

"_Why are you here!?" I demanded from him._

"_I came to get the rest of Sora's memories back." he answered calmly and this only angered me more._

"_Sora!? Enough about Sora! I'm going to destroy Kingdom Hearts, then everything can go back to the way it was! I can have ice cream again with her!" I shouted, knowing full well I was in denial but I didn't care._

_Riku just gave me a calm grunt, "'Her' huh? You mean _? It's a struggle just to remember her name."_

"_Just get out of my way! I'll free the hearts and find Sora, then I can get the answers I want!" I snapped at him, the hood of my coat keeping my face from view, but with that blindfold on him I don't think it matters._

"_I won't let you do something so reckless, I need you alive to help wake up my friend." Riku said as he charged at me with the Oblivion I threw at him earlier._

_I managed to get Riku down and he shouted at me, "Why!? Why do you wield the Keyblade!?"_

_This served to anger me more, because that's exactly what _I_ wanted to _know_! He knew why, he's only saying that to spite me! "SHUT UP!" I lunged at him, but he took this opportunity in my fit of rage to catch me off guard and hit me hard with Oblivion and I ended up on the ground with my hood off, revealing my face, not that it matters though._

_Lying there, I was exhausted, but I wasn't out yet. I closed my eyes and decided to feign unconsciousness. I waited as I heard him approaching me. I didn't so much as flinch when I heard him stabbing Oblivion to the floor next to my head. It wasn't until I was sure he was close to me did I open my eyes again and, weakly, sat up, groaning, grabbing Oblivion before swinging at him, but he was fast… Riku managed to dodge by jumping back._

_I glared as I stood up and charged at him. Riku shot a dark energy ball at me, but I managed to deflect it with my Keyblade and swung at him again, but like before, Riku jumped away from me. I was getting impatient with his constant jumping around. "Why don't you quit!?"_

_Riku seemed to be studying me for a moment, though it's hard to tell with that blindfold on his eyes, then he spoke, "Come on, Sora! I thought _you_ were stronger than _that_!"_

_I blinked, suddenly feeling more competitive than angry at this, "Huh? Get real! Look at which one of us is winning!" but after I said that, I found it strange that just came out of _my_ mouth. "Eh?"_

_However, Riku found it more as a confirmation than an oddity, "So it's true… you really _are_ his Nobody. I guess DiZ was right."_

_By now I have lost my patience and my temper, shaking my hand and bailing it up into a fist, I shouted, "What are you TALKING ABOUT!? I AM ME! Nobody else!" I summoned Oathkeeper in my other hand in anger and charged at him in blinding speed. I jumped and he dodged my first swing, but my second managed to not only cut through his shield but slashed his arm!_

"_Gah!" Riku grunted in pain as he fell on his knees and grabbing his cut arm._

_I glared, wishing he would just either die or get out of my way already! "How many times do I have to beat you!?"_

"_Alright… I didn't want to have to do this… but you leave me no choice. It's time I stop holding back the darkness." Riku said as he took off his blindfold._

_I frowned in confusion, but a sinking feeling came in. "What?"_

_"The darkness that I have locked away in my heart…" Riku finished as he began screaming loudly and he was covered in darkness! I braced myself to whatever was happening, but right before my eyes he transformed into someone who looked like Xemnas with a big black Heartless creature behind him._

_I was so caught off guard by this that I didn't have time to react when the transformed Riku suddenly teleported in front of me and that black Heartless behind him grabbed me! I groaned as I struggled to get out of the iron grip, but it was no use… I was already tired, injured and exhausted from our previous fight and the Heartless was squeezing and lifting me from the ground… eventually I couldn't take it anymore and passed out, dropping my Oathkeeper and Oblivion._

"_I have accepted it." I heard him say in a much deeper voice, despite being unconscious._

_I don't know how, but despite being unconconscious, I was able to hear DiZ and Riku's conversation._

"_DiZ… he could feel Sora." Riku said._

"_Oh? He told you how he felt, did he? Impossible. A Nobody cannot feel anything, it's all just a ruse." I heard DiZ say as if Riku just told him a joke._

"_Maybe if he were to have met Sora, things would be different." I heard Riku say._

_I don't know how, but once again I heard them speaking to each other despite being unconscious._

"_Are you sure about this?" Riku asked him._

"_We cannot revive Sora until Namine finishes piecing together his memories. Once she does, we can have Roxas connect with Sora and awaken him. Until then, we will delete his old memories and implant new ones, he'll live out the last of his days as a happy, ordinary boy in a virtual town. He should be thankful I'm letting him live in a peaceful dream." DiZ explained._

"_Poor thing…" I couldn't tell if Riku was being sincere or not._

"_It's the fate of a Nobody." DiZ spoke like it was no big deal… and… I was sent to a virtual Twilight Town._

***End of Memory Flashback***

* * *

After regaining all of his lost memories during his time as a Nobody, Roxas panted, but glared as pure anger and rage began flooding through him. Glaring heatedly at the monitors, even though they were only replicated computer data, they're what brought him to this happy prison.

Roxas summoned his Keyblade and began wrecking the entire system in anger. "IT WAS ALL A LIE! NONE OF IT WAS REAL!" he screamed as tears fell from his eyes. "I WAS NEVER MEANT TO EXIST TO BEGIN WITH!" Whenever he had missions in Twilight Town, he remembered seeing three friends, Hayner, Pence and Olette, hanging out all the time together. They laughed and seem to live simple lives… Roxas was jealous of them and had wished, more than anything, to be a part of their happy group… but… Roxas destroyed the last monitor as he finally began calming down a little bit. "It was all just a dream…"

Shaking his head, he looked at what he had just done… the monitors were smoking and beyond repair, but he didn't care. Roxas felt the tugging even stronger than ever after calming down. Walking through, he came to a room where he was attacked, yet again by those creatu- no, they were Nobodies, like he was. Dusks and Assassins. Axel was nearby.

Roxas easily took care of these Nobodies- after regaining his memories, his fighting skills also came back. Axel himself walked by, his arms crossed. "Simply amazing, Roxas."

"Axel." Roxas spoke the name with familiarity instead of uneasiness or sounding unsure.

Axel knew that Roxas finally remembered, but… "You really _do_ remember me this time. I'M SO FLATTERED!" He suddenly summoned walls of fire around them, keeping Roxas from getting away. "But you're too late!"

Roxas, knowing what he had to do even if he didn't want to do it, summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion to his side, getting ready to battle with his best and only friend in his short life.

Axel was shocked at seeing not one but… "Two!?" But he didn't question it for long as he summoned his own fiery chakrams to fight, smiling sadistically. "C'mere, I'll make it all stop! BURN BABY!"

He tossed his chakrams into the floor, causing everything to turn into magma. Roxas winced, his feet burning from the floor burning through his shoes, but he didn't let Axel do this for long- he charged the redhead, his Keyblades clashing with Axel's chakrams before diving at the red headed Nobody, tackling him to the floor and forcing the magma to disappear.

With Axel stunned, this gave Roxas the chance to combo his old friend- he swung his two Keyblades in a frenzy, almost giving Axel no time to react. However, Axel managed to escape from Roxas's deadly combos and into the walls of fire, making it impossible for Roxas to get to him without being burned into a fried Roxas on a stick.

Axel kept rushing through at Roxas, coming from end of the wall of fire to another, trying to keep Roxas from reacting or getting to him. Eventually, Roxas managed to throw a Keyblade at Axel, stunning him long enough to jump and somersault into the air, comboing Axel even more.

Axel quickly recovered, though, tossing his chakrams into the floor as he cried out as loud as he could, "BURN, BABY!" Roxas winced, the floor becoming magma again- but he quickly began swinging at the man once more, keeping the pressure on even as his feet turned crispy.

Roxas refused to give up though, and Axel threw his chakrams at Roxas, knocking the Keyblade Wielder back for a loop. Roxas grunted in pain, the magma and fire around him was beginning to take it's toll. Glaring, Roxas lunged himself at Axel for one more assault; he stabbed Axel's chest and caused the wall of fire to subside and the magma to fade. Roxas stopped after that though, not wanting to finish off his only real friend, and dismissed his two Keyblades.

Axel panted as he was on his knees, before giving Roxas a weak grin. "... Let's… meet again… in the next life."

Roxas nodded, saying softly, "Yeah… I'll be waiting."

Axel chuckled, shaking his head weakly. "Silly Roxas… Just because _you_ have a next life…" And with that, he formed a dark portal around him and disappeared, leaving- to Roxas's surprise- a strange hole in the ground.

"Eh?" Blinking and curious, Roxas walked over to the hole, deciding to ignore the powerful tugging coming from the other side of the door for now. Roxas looked down the hole, not being able to see anything but darkness. "... That's weird… I thought this was the basement, how could-" The hole suddenly expanded unexpectedly and Roxas fell right in! "WHOOOOOAAAAA!" He fell right through space and time, everything warping around him.

* * *

**Key2DestNE: *is pouting* I still wanted to do the disclaimer- that's what the button was for…**

**DarkFoxKit: Maybe next chapter then. Anyway, readers, for those of you who read the manga version of Kingdom Hearts II, you may notice that the memory part was taken from those scenes, and some parts were the extended version from 358/2 Days cutscene with Roxas and Riku.**

**Key2DestNE: And yes, this one chapter isn't too different from the actual game, but honestly, it's the PROLOGUE- it'll be a lot more different in the upcoming chapters, trust us!**

**DarkFoxKit: Yes! So if I hear someone bellyaching about all that 'it's just like the game!' crap, weeeeeell let's just say that you and someone else may end up regretting it~ There IS a reason why it's following the game so closely: We. Are. Keeping. It. As. Close. To. The. Canon. As. Much. As. Possible.**

**Key2DestNE: … *pales* Please, please, PLEASE don't bellyache! I'd rather NOT regret it, thank you very much!**

**DarkFoxKit: So anyways, starting next chapter, the real chapter, Roxas will end up going 11 years into the past, and guess where he ends up and whom he gets to meet~ I hope you guys are excited!**

**Key2DestNE: Heh- trust me, if you're not excited now, you will be! We put a lotta work into this, so we hope you enjoy this chapter, and we'll get back to uploading other stories when we're a decent part of the way through!**

**DarkFoxKit: Yeah… my other stories were kind of on unspoken hiatus until we were done with this one. But it's done now, and we can finally relax a bit.**

**Key2DestNE: *grumbles* With some of our fans- *cough* the more impatient ones- *cough* complaining about how long it takes for chapters to get uploaded, I doubt it…**

**DarkFoxKit: … And this is why they need to learn that waiting for a good chapter rather than having them hurry to get a rushed one out has better results! A lot of fans understand this, but I guess we can't expect everyone to know or have the patience to care.**

**Key2DestNE: Yeah… Anyways, we'll meet you all next time this story's uploaded! Buh bye~ *twitches, giving a wide grin***

**DarkFoxKit: …. Key…? Why are you twitching?**

**Key2DestNE: BECAUSE MY FANBOY'S ABOUT TO GO WILD! *begins bouncing off the walls!***

**DarkFoxKit: Couldn't you have waited until we get to the later chapters!? *grabs camera* I'm sorry folks, he's going out of control… again. Please, have a nice day or night and review if you want to support us. *turns it off***


	2. Chapter 1: Similar Faces

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Hello you readers! I know the update's kinda fast, but we wanted to get in the first chapter after the prologue.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ She's right- and we know you all enjoyed the first chapter to varying degrees, so here's hoping you all like this one better since it's much different from the game's script! After all, from here on out it's all altered due to a certain somebody's, or should I say Nobody's, presence~ *cricket, cricket, cricket* ...Nothing? Come on, I thought it was funny!**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ …. WELL now! I've learned that some people who read this story isn't that familiar with the games. They might know some of the first one but that's about it. I find it kinda weird they're reading this since it barely has anything to do with the first game, and more on Birth By Sleep and 358/2 Days. But hey, if you're enjoying it, who am I to judge?**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Precisely. Alright, I don't think there's anything else to talk about for now… so we'll meet you at the bottom when you're done with the chapter!**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ …. Really? I thought you wanted to do that disclaimer you were complaining about in the prologue.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Eh, I got over it… but I guess you're right! *chuckles, muttering under his breath* Reverse psychology… gets 'em every time… *cough, cough* Anyways, we don't own anything to do with Kingdom Hearts- none of the characters are ours, and the same goes for the plot- only the idea that Roxas goes into the past and sees this is ours!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Similar Faces**

Meanwhile, in another world entirely, a boy with blond spiky hair, blue eyes, and black and white clothes was laying on the ground, snoozing away. He smiled in his sleep, dreaming all about his best friends in the world. To his surprise, though, he woke up when someone landed on him, hard! "Ugh!" He grunted, looking up in confusion. "Who the heck- ...Huh?" He blinked, staring into eyes not unsimilar to his own.

"Uh… hi?" Roxas waved awkwardly. How did he go from falling down an impossible hole in the basement to landing on top of another boy who… looks just like him? _Did I fall on a mirror or something?_

The look-alike boy frowned a bit, shoving Roxas off him with a grunt. "Get off me!" He then slowly sat up, looking at the boy across from him in confusion. "...Who are you?" Then he blinked, a thought occurring to him. _No way… is he…? _He suddenly groaned, confusing Roxas. "TERRA!" he shouted, looking around the area. "STOP YOUR STUPID PRANKS, YOU HAVE AN EXAM TOMORROW- YOU GOTTA SAVE YOUR ENERGY!"

Roxas blinked at the strange boy, and it soon occurred to the Keyblade Wielding Nobody that this was no mirror. "... Is your name Sora, by any chance?" he asked warily- he knew what Sora looked like and this was not it, but there's always a chance, right? How could someone look so much like him and_ not_ have some kind of connection to him?

The boy blinked, looking back at Roxas in confusion. "...Sora? Who the heck is that?" He groaned. "Ugh… Terra must've screwed up- that or he just thinks this thing's funny…" He then began poking and prodding Roxas's face! "Wow, he really went all out- you look and feel just like me! …Well, except for the clothes I mean."

"H-hey! Quit it!" Roxas snapped in irritation as he slapped the other boy's hands away from his face. "If you're not Sora then are you one of Vexen's replicas!?" he demanded.

"..." The boy blinked again. "Who the heck is Vexen?" He shook his head, crossing his arms and murmuring to himself, "Geez… Terra had a weird imagination to think _this_ is funny…"

The Keyblade Wielding Nobody frowned, if he wasn't Sora or some kind of replica then who is he? Some kind of twin he never knew he had? … Can Nobodies even _have_ long lost twins? Or maybe he's _Sora's_ brother? But didn't he just say he didn't know a Sora? Ugh, all of this was hurting Roxas's already aching head. "I don't know who this 'Terra' is, but… who are you?"

The boy blinked a third time, looking Roxas over in confusion. "Uh… my name's Ventus, Ven for short- and what name did Terra, or your 'creator' give you, copy of me?" He chuckled in amusement before noticing Roxas's look of pure rage. "...?"

"I'm NOT a COPY! I am ME! Nobody else!" Roxas snapped angrily, on the brink of summoning Oblivion just to shove it into the other boy-Ven's- face, but he managed to hold himself back.

Ven blinked, startled. "Uh… okay, okay, calm down!" He held up his hands, sweatdropping. "If you're not a copy, why do you look exactly like me, but with different clothes?" He frowned a bit. "You even have the same voice as me!"

Roxas glared but shook his head. "How the heck should I know? I was in the old mansion and suddenly fell on top of you!" Then something occurred to him… he was _outside_. "... Where am I?" It was night instead of twilight and _nothing_ looked familiar to him.

Ven blinked for the millionth time, looking around. "Uh… the Land of Departure, duh." He chuckled. "Don't you recognize where you were crea- er… 'landed', lookalike?"

Roxas crossed his arms, frowning in irritation at Ven's constant 'name-calling'. "My name is Roxas! And no, I don't recognize this place. I live in Twilight Town, not Land of wherever the heck this is! Is this some kind of trick!?"

The black and white-wearing boy frowned, slowly shaking his head. "Uh… no, of course not. Seriously, what did Terra _do_ to you to mess you up so much? And on the night before his exam, too?"

"I told you that I don't _know_ any Terra! And what exam?" The Nobody glared, this boy acted similar to the Sora from his dreams.

Ven frowned even more. "Uh… the Mark of Mastery Exam." Roxas blinked, now confused by the term. "What, you really don't know this place, uh… Roxas?"

Roxas crossed his arms, trying to study Ven as if trying to figure out where this lookalike is getting at. He _was_ trained by Luxord and Axel to always analyze the situation before trying your luck after all. "No… I don't… Maybe it's because I don't remember much about my past." Which was technically true, he's the only Nobody in the Organization who didn't remember his life as human.

Ventus frowned at that, suddenly looking at Roxas much more intently. "You… you don't?" Roxas blinked, confused at the new intensity of Ventus's curiosity. "...Maybe we can go find my friends! I mean, they can help- they're really nice people, and they helped me too!"

"... I'm sure…" Roxas frowned. _Rule #2: Never allow the people of the world to come in contact with you._ "But I should get going… I need to find my… home." _Not that I have one anymore. Rule # 23: When entering a new world, always reconessiece to familiarize yourself with the world and its people._

Ven frowned awkwardly, though. "Er… about that… Roxas… the Land of Departure is all there is here." Roxas frowned at that… did Ven know about other worlds? "You see… there _is_ no Twilight Town here… You're going to need Master Eraqus's help to get home." Then he suddenly smiled. "And while you're here, you can watch the meteor shower with me- it's still going on, I think!"

"... For someone who's excited about a meteor shower that's still going on, you were having a rather peaceful nap earlier." Roxas grumbled. "Besides, I thought I was just some prank copy of you from this Terra guy."

Ven smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "Well… y-you know, I might've fallen asleep, but… It's still a cool meteor shower…" Then he shrugged. "Besides, you're different enough- and if you're worried about getting home, we can try to find out where it is you live in the morning!" _If you live ANYWHERE…_ he thought to himself.

The Nobody sighed to himself as he said, "I appreciate the concern, but I'll be fine. I just want to explore this place for a bit. I've never been here before." But then he looked at Ven's strange choice of color in his clothing, which was similar to his own, but there was… that metal chunk on his shoulder that bothered him. "... What's that metal thing on your shoulder? Isn't that uncomfortable?"

Ven shrugged, grinning in excitement. "Yeah, a bit- but it's my armor!" He poked it a bit, shrugging. "I've never used it- I'm not to that part of my training yet- but I'm still excited about what it's going to look like!"

"... Wait… that thing's your armor yet you never used it? … Then why the sea salt ice cream do you wear it in the first place!?" Roxas facepalmed at this- at least his old black coat was pretty comfortable to wear, unlike having a piece of metal chunk attached to his shoulder that he wouldn't use any time soon.

Ven shrugged. "Not sure what sea salt ice cream is, but…" He grinned. "I'm gonna use it soon!" Roxas frowned at that, still confused about who this 'Master Eraqus' was. "What about you? What're you learning right now?"

"... Learning? Are you talking about high school?" Roxas asked him, wishing Ven would be more specific in what The World That Never Was he was talking about!

The other boy nodded, giving a shrug. "I guess- or whatever you're learning right now. I mean, I'm not in high school, and you've gotta be 16 if you're a clo- …If you're… a twin." He awkwardly adjusted what he was saying beforehand.

Roxas grumbled as he rubbed his forehead. "I'm 15 actually, and I'm not a _'twin'_, okay?" _I never went to school… I learned everything I did from the Organization… But in my fake memory, I, sort of, went to Twilight High…_ "And it doesn't matter, it's just school. What kind of stuff are you learning anyway if you're wearing armor? Some war school?"

Ven shrugged, thinking it over. "Well, sorta… It's-" Then he blinked, seeing someone behind Roxas. "Oh, Aqua- you're out here too? Why aren't you in bed, asleep?"

The young Nobody frowned before turning to see a young lady with blue hair coming towards them, smiling warmly at his lookalike but looking at him with curiosity and confusion.

"Ven… you never told me you had a twin." Aqua said with an amused chuckle. "Were you planning on using this to get back at Terra for when he made your hair brown?"

Ventus shook his head, frowning a bit. "No, not really…" He shrugged. "I think Terra made a clo- …. A _twin_ of me, but he doesn't like to be called the c word." He whispered in Aqua's ear, "You know- clone…?"

"Ugh!" Roxas groaned, having heard Ven with his sharp ears. "Look! I'm not a clone! The closest I am to a clone is that I'm a Nobody! A shadow to someone else!"

Aqua and Ven blinked and stared at Roxas, Aqua frowning in concern while Ven raised an eyebrow.

"... What?" Roxas figured they might have some idea what a Nobody is since they're becoming more and more common along with Heartless lately, but they act like he just called himself a moron or something.

Ven coughed awkwardly, looking at Aqua in confusion. "Uh… Aqua?" he quietly asked. "What's a Nobody? …Did he just call himself a _loser_?" Roxas's jaw dropped.

"How could you think of such a thing about yourself?" Aqua said, frowning at him. "Don't feel so bad- you look like a nice boy!"

Roxas shook his head, frowning again. "What? No, I'm not having a self-esteem issue, it's just fact that I'm a Nobody! Don't you know what those are?" He had no idea why he's telling them he's a Nobody anyway, but it already slipped out so might as well explain himself.

Ven coughed nervously, shrugging. "Uh… no, not really." He looked up at Aqua, still frowning in confusion. "What should we do?" he whispered. "Should one of us go get Master Eraqus, tell him a boy landed out of the sky and is calling himself a loser?"

Aqua sighed to herself, slowly nodding. "Yes, I think we should get him. Maybe he can help us with this boy…" she whispered back to Ven.

Roxas frowned, but before he could speak up, someone else joined the party. "Hey Ven!" And a big strong arm was suddenly patting him on the back, so hard he nearly fell over! "Have you been working on those moves lately? Where's your armor? You've always wore it day and night!"

Roxas coughed a bit from the sudden pat on the back by this guy. "Uh, what?" He glanced up, seeing a big man with brown hair, blue eyes, and the same piece of armor as Ventus on his arm. _I wonder why all three of them have armor but I don't see any weapons on them… Hmm…_

"Uh… Terra?" The big man, apparently Terra, blinked and glanced up to a waving Ventus. "Over here- that's Roxas… Can you dispel him now? Seriously, the prank got old after he fell on me from the sky…"

Terra blinked in confusion. "... Dispel him? I don't know what you mean by that Ven, but did you just double yourself?"

"He's a real boy, Terra, and he's lost!" Aqua scolded. "At first I thought he was a clone you or Ven made too, but-" Roxas growled. "Okay, a _doppelganger_ you or Ven made, but he's an actual boy who has low self-esteem! Don't be rude!"

"What? But why does he look like Ven?" Terra blinked, looking at Ven in confusion.

"I don't know! He just fell from the sky and landed on top of me! I thought you set him up as a prank or something!" Ven pointed at him, still frowning. "You did that with the flour prank the other day!"

"My magic isn't _that_ good Ven!" Terra told him, crossing his arms. "That's more _Aqua's_ area- and she doesn't do pranks, you know that!"

While the three of them were arguing, Roxas took this time to slip away from them, wanting to be left alone and explore this new world. Maybe he can find refuge here for a while since there aren't any other Nobodies in the area.

Walking and looking around, Roxas was trying to examine everything, just like how he was taught to do whenever he was on recon missions. _I wonder if Axel sent me here on purpose…?_ Then he stopped when he saw a huge castle. "Whoa… that's a big castle…"

"Yes… yes it is." someone suddenly said behind him. Roxas jolted, spinning around to see a blade right in his face! "Now I expect an explanation- who are you and why do you look so similar to my student?"

Roxas, frozen in place and not wanting the blade to stab his eyes out, decided to skip the rebellion and answer. "M-my name's Roxas, a-and I don't know why I look similar to anyone, I can't help that I was born with this face!"

The man frowned, narrowing his eyes. Roxas noticed he had a gray goatee as he still held the blade to Roxas's face. "...Roxas, eh? Well, I don't know anyone by that name… But tell me this- are you one with a light heart or a _dark_ heart?"

Roxas frowned in confusion as if not knowing how to answer that. _How could I answer something like that? I don't HAVE a heart!_ When he didn't answer right away, the man's blade touched his throat, prompting the boy to answer any way he could before he lost his head. "I-I don't know how to answer that!" He also wanted to play the part of someone who's not used to fighting or seeing blades all the time, using his personality from when DiZ implanted those fake memories into him… Maybe that man did something useful for him after all.

The gray-haired man narrowed his eyes, poking his throat just a tiny bit. "It is a simple question- do you prefer to help others or to harm them? Well, _Roxas_?" He narrowed his eyes even more- by now Roxas could barely see his eyes. "Are you good or evil?"

"... I guess I'm more of a twilight." Roxas finally answered. "I don't think I'm good or evil, nor do I belong to light or darkness…"

This actually made the man lower his blade slightly in confusion, and Roxas saw it looked almost like a Keyblade- although unlike any Keyblade _he_ ever used. "...How can you be neither light nor dark?"

"It's possible…" Roxas said, shrugging. "It's unlikely but it is possible. Isn't there a neutral zone for almost anything? Why would there be light and darkness but no in-between like twilight?"

The gray-haired man frowned, his eyes still narrowed, but he slowly lowered his blade. "...I suppose you mean no harm on this place. Tell me… What purpose do you have for coming to my home, Roxas? You look as young as my youngest student- why would you, a 16 year old boy, come here?"

"... Not to be rude, or anything, but I'm 15… And I didn't come here on purpose. I was in an old mansion in Twilight Town, when I fell in a hole and just landed here. I know it sounds crazy, but that's honestly what happened, and I don't know how to get back home." Roxas said, though the part of 'don't know how to get back home' wasn't all that true- he could still use the Corridors of Darkness, being a Nobody, but it's not like he's going to tell this guy that.

The man frowned at that, lowering his blade to his side. "I see… Twilight Town?" Roxas nodded slowly. "I'm afraid I haven't heard of that place… But I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't get home- after all, this is a completely different world, not to mention realm."

"A different world? Like a planet or something? … Are you an alien?" Roxas asked him curiously- though acting ignorant was kind of fun, he hopes he doesn't annoy the man with a freaking blade too much… Then again, he could probably match up with him with his Oathkeeper and Oblivion, if he reacted fast enough, but for now he'll just play the innocent boy.

The man twitched, a vein visible on his forehead. "No, I am not an alien… We are in a realm between that of the Realm of Light and the Realm of Darkness." Roxas blinked at that, not expecting to hear that he was in a different _realm_. "And when you are in a different world, nothing is the same. You may meet those of the same species, but they do not know the same things you do- for example, you speak of a town as your home. Here… there is only this castle and what is needed around it for training."

"I see… That's… a lot to take in." Roxas said, crossing his arms. "... What are you training for in this world anyway? If it's not too much to ask, of course! I mean, I think I heard some of your students talking about armors and exams before, but they weren't very clear or specific about it."

The man gave a small smile at that. "Ah, yes, my students…" He turned and began to walk towards the castle. "Follow me, Roxas, and I will explain." Blinking in confusion, the blond boy quickly followed. "In this world, I am what is known as a Keyblade Master, although I am also known as Master Eraqus. And this…" He held up the blade before it disappeared in a familiar shine of light. "...is my Keyblade. I am training my students to take the Mark of Mastery- so they, too, may become Keyblade Masters."

Roxas's brain was stuck on 'Keyblade Master'. _Wait… Keyblade Master? … There's more than just a selected few who are able to wield the Keyblade? But then… why did Xemnas act like I was the only one? And… wait… THAT thing WAS a Keyblade!? No wonder it seemed so similar to mine, but…Hold on… THOSE THREE I was talking to earlier can wield Keyblades too!?_

Eraqus then noticed Roxas's sudden shocked look. "I suppose it is a lot to take in… The idea of a key being a weapon- however, it holds quite a lot of power." He then frowned, his expression growing dark. "And if you are one with a dark heart… you may use it for even darker purposes… Something I wish to prevent happening to my students"

Roxas looked at Eraqus, a thought occurring to him… He remembered how insistent Xemnas was that Roxas would finish off a Heartless with his Keyblade since he's the ONLY ONE they could FIND to wield the Keyblade currently. He _had_ fallen into a hole, and it _did _look like he was falling through darkness… "... Um… Master Eraqus? … If you don't mind, what's the date?"

The man blinked in surprise, shaking off his dark expression and looking at Roxas. "Why… it's June 12th, 199X." Roxas paled. "What's wrong, Roxas? You look as if you have just been told the date of your death."

"..." _But… but that's… That's 11 years ago! H-how!? W-why!? How and why did Axel send me back 11 years ago!? Was it even _Axel _who sent me back in time to a different world!? Who and why then!?_ With all this, along with his memory strains and his earlier battles and stress catching up to him, Roxas suddenly became very dizzy, and he swayed a few times before he fell to the ground, passing out.

Eraqus quickly caught him, giving a concerned frown before beginning to carry him inside. _I suppose the strain was too much for the poor boy… He seems as if he's never fought or even seen a blade before- I had better find a way to return him to his own world, and soon… Otherwise he might not be able to handle such strain on his mind._

* * *

**_DarkFoxKit:_ I hope that was better than the prologue~ The prologue was just to give you the idea where it's set from, so you know that Roxas isn't, you know, a freaking _zombie_ like he is in the beginning of 358/2 Days, and it's not set in the middle of him being in the Organization, it's just before he goes back to Sora.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Now, how'd you all enjoy this chapter? Now yes, we'll have the characters acting slightly different than usual, but we won't be having Terra tossing flowers around while Ven sulks in a corner and Aqua threatens to stab anyone who comes near her- I just wanted it to be clear before we got any further that this is how we think they'd react in this situation.**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ And yes, I get that it was a stupid move for Roxas to outright tell them he was a Nobody, but really, at this point the poor boy was about to go insane, and I wouldn't blame him. He's not thinking very clear right now. He got really angry at the whole clone thing because of his issues with… you know, being a Nobody, a shadow to Sora that everyone made clear that is who he is and not his own being- so yeah, calling him a clone WOULD push him to the edge.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Let's see, what else is there… Oh- right. We'll also be having events change slightly to allow growth for Roxas's own story to unfold, but you'll have to continue reading the story to find out just what changes those are~ *winks at the camera***

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Okay, I think we've said all there is to say now. If you have any questions, feel free to PM one of us and we'll be sure to tell you to the best of our abilities, and please don't PM us just to be a jerk.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ And now, time for us to head out with the classic phrase~ Read and review, everybody, because we can only grow as writers when we're told what we do right and what we do wrong!**


	3. Chapter 2: New Friends

**_Key2DestNE:_ Hey everybody, Key2DestNE and DarkFoxKit back for another chapter of KH Birth by Sleep: Roxas's Story. Now I don't think there's much to say before we begin, other than thank you for all the amazing support for the first two chapters! I'll admit, it's overwhelming how much people are liking it, and I'm glad we haven't messed up so far.**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ … Heh, riiiiight. Well, anyway… we plan to update this story every week, so mostly expect this on Fridays if we can do it. This chapter is probably the last chapter before the big exam and everything else happens.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Yeah- it's also gonna give a bit more characterization to these three, so hopefully we don't screw it up too much! We gave you a touch of what we'd do with Ven, Terra, and Aqua last chapter, but this one it's gonna be a bit clearer about how their personalities make sense with the game.**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ So try to keep an open mind while you read, and have fun! Um… Key… you uh… doing the disclaimer right now?**

**_Key2DestNE:_ *gives a bright grin* I thought you'd never ask~ *ahem!* We do not own Kingdom Hearts, or any of the locations, names, or terms used within- they belong solely to Square Enix and Disney. Same goes with the characters and plot, only the idea that Roxas is involved in all this is ours. Roll the film!**

* * *

**Chapter 2: New Friends**

…_. Where am I? … I'm just floating in the middle of nowhere… it's so bright here… yet it's so dark at the same time…_

"_...xas…" Huh? I heard someone's voice… who's there? "...ra… Key… must…. sti…. ith… Ve…." I can't make out what they're saying… please, tell me who you are and where I am… Why am I… 11 years in the past?_

…_.. No good… I can't hear them anymore… I'm… drifting off…_

Roxas groaned as he slowly opened his eyes from his bed, frowning when he didn't recognize the bedroom he was in and further in the reality that this was not a dream.

He slowly sat up, looking around. "So… it wasn't a dream, huh…?" he muttered to himself. Thankfully, he was still fully clothed, but this didn't ease his troubled mind as he adjusted his position so his feet were over the side of the bed and began to think.

_So… if I'm 11 years in the past… then that means I have to be careful not to mess anything up. One change and one wrong move and not only would I suddenly cease to exist, but everything could go into chaos. Still… It's such a good opportunity to learn more about the Keyblade… Maybe I can find out why I can wield one despite being a Nobody…_

* * *

Roxas's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Ven's voice talking to Eraqus just outside his door. "But Master Eraqus, Roxas isn't a bad guy- heck, he might be nothing more than a botched clone! Why do we have to worry so much?"

Roxas glared as he heard this, but stayed quiet as Eraqus's voice spoke up. "Despite your reassurances, Ventus, he is still a stranger, and we do not know much about him. It's true he seems like an ordinary boy who knows nothing about the outside world beyond his own, nor does he seem to have any battle experience, but he is an unusual case- he did not seem to know if he belonged to light or darkness and instead answered twilight."

Ventus paused for a moment, and when he spoke up again, he sounded surprised. "...He did? I wonder why… I mean, it's not really _possible_ to be perfectly twilight… is it, sir?"

"It shouldn't be- in fact, that's the first time I've gotten an answer like that." Eraqus said, sounding more curious than suspicious. "Still, we cannot let down our guard Ventus, we do not know much about him and it's too early to make assumptions. For now, I will keep a close eye on him until the exam is over."

Roxas clenched his fist in irritation when he heard that. _What, he doesn't trust me? …_ He paused, thinking about it for a minute. _…That's pretty smart of him- I just appear out of nowhere, look just like one of his students, and apparently I didn't respond like he's used to… But I wonder why Ven's talking to him about me anyway? Maybe I should get out of here before I end up screwing something up…_

The blond-haired Nobody began to stand up, but to his surprise, the door began opening. Ven poked his head inside, smiling when he saw Roxas was awake. "Hey, you're alright! Master Eraqus told us you passed out when walking up the stairs outside."

"... Yeah… I guess I was just exhausted and all the information about Keyblades and other worlds must've been too much for me…" Roxas said as he gave a small chuckle and rubbing the back of his head. "But… why are you here? Shouldn't you be asleep for this big exam tomorrow?"

Ven frowned a bit, shaking his head. "No, I'm not taking it… I'm gonna head to bed soon- but I wanted to make sure you weren't hurt or anything. Just since we look alike and all- it'd be weird seeing myself with a big gash on his head or something!"

Roxas shook his head, frowning slightly. "Well… that's nice of you, but I'm fine. So you better go get some sleep if you plan to watch the exam. I'll just explore for a bit."

Ven smiled at that, walking in all the way. "Well, maybe I can show you around- I've lived here all my life, after all, I know a lot about this place!"

"You really don't have to do that Ven, just go to bed or you'll be too tired tomorrow." the blond Nobody said to him, not wanting to interact with anyone, especially in the past. "It's okay, I'll be fine on my own."

Ven chuckled, beginning to pull Roxas out the door. "C'mon Roxas, don't be such a sourpuss! This'll make it quicker for both of us!"

"B-but-" Roxas groaned as his look-alike began dragging him. "Ugh… Fine, whatever!" Ven gave him a chuckle of amusement as he let go of the Nobody and gestured him to follow. "... So… I guess since you're Eraqus's student, you can wield a Keyblade too?"

Ven nodded, holding out a hand. "Yeah- take a look!" With a flash of light, a Keyblade appeared in his hand, but… it was held backwards in his hands. "You see? I'm more of a speed kinda guy- so I chose this!"

Roxas looked at it in awe and curiosity, his own Keyblade could change its shape and style of fighting depending on the keychain he puts on it, but he's never seen one like this before. "That's pretty neat… Do you have a name for it?"

Ven swung it around a bit, nodding with a cheerful grin. "Of course- I call it Wayward Wind!" He shrugged, dispelling it. "It fits me a lot, actually- it's super easy to get a lot of combos on an opponent like this!"

"Sounds like it's your kind of Keyblade then. But does that mean there are many different types of styles? How is your skills with the Keyblade anyway?" Roxas asked curiously, partly because he wanted to know where he stood with someone who's trained by a master whereas he's more self-taught.

The blond-haired boy nodded, still leading Roxas around the area. "Yeah- at least 3 as far as I know! There's people like me who go for speed, people like Terra who are more about power, and people like Aqua who are more magic-based. There might be more styles, I dunno…"

"That sounds pretty cool… but… magic? Is that really a thing with these Keyblades?" Roxas asked, trying to sound astounded, remembering his own reactions to Axel's fire magic when he thought he was an ordinary boy.

Ven merely grinned, before holding out a hand and, to Roxas's surprise, making a small ball of fire appear in his hands! "Yep- it's even possible without the Keyblade! It's not the easiest thing to do, not for combat at least… But it's still a neat little trick!"

"That's pretty cool! Just be careful not to burn yourself." Roxas chuckled.

The two look-alikes continue to talk as Ven showed Roxas around the castle and they soon reached the training area. "And this is where the exam will take place."

Roxas looked around, "Wow, this is pretty cool." Ven suddenly summoned his Keyblade. "Hmm?"

"You asked how my skills are with this, right?" Ven said to him, giving a bright smile.

"Are you going to practice on a dummy or something?" Roxas asked him, looking around in confusion. "...I don't see any here, though…"

The boy in the right timeline shrugged, still smiling. "Well, we can get you a weapon or something and you can try fighting me with that! Maybe you can use a metal rod or something…"

"WHAT!?" Roxas all but shouted in both shock and nervousness. "Are you kidding me? I don't have any fighting experience, why spar with someone like me!? And I don't want that Keyblade in my face, thank you very much! You can thank your Master for _that_ little traumatizing experience!"

Ven pouted, giving Roxas big watery eyes. "B-but Roxas… I want to show you how I fight… pleeeease?" he begged, his lower lip wiggling a bit.

_Is THAT how I looked like to Axel whenever I ask him for something but he won't give it to me?_ Roxas musingly thought to himself before frowning at his double. "Look, why would you even _want _to spar with me anyway? Just because I look like you? That doesn't mean I fight like you, you know!"

Ven grinned at that. "Exactly- you're new, I'm USED to fighting with Terra and Aqua! With you it'd be different! C'mon, just one spar! Pleeeeeeease?"

"No!" Roxas crossed his arms, turning away stubbornly. "I'm _not_ fighting with someone who's trained with a freaking Keyblade! You can forget it!"

Ven sighed before dismissing his Wayward Wind Keyblade and picking up his wooden Keyblade. "Alright, how about I use this instead?"

Roxas blinked, surprised by this. "... Is that a toy?" he slowly asked. "I… you have a toy Keyblade?"

Ventus blushed in embarrassment, glaring in irritation. "I-it's not a toy, Roxas! It's Terra's old fake Keyblade, he used it for practicing! Now should I use it or not?"

The young Nobody sighed before crossing his arms. "You're not going to leave me alone unless I agree, are you?" Ven merely shook his head, grinning brightly. "Fine, I'll use… uh…" Roxas looked around before spotting a wooden toy sword nearby, probably there for when the three of them wanted to practice without using their real weapons. The blond future Nobody picked it up and got into his usual stance. "Okay, let's do this, but I suck!"

Ven grinned in excitement, spinning the wooden Keyblade around. "Alright, fine by me- let's go!" With that, he began charging Roxas.

Roxas responded by quickly blocking Ven's attack, the boy wasn't kidding when he said he was fast- still, Roxas was used to fighting fast enemies. The future boy jumped back and waited, he didn't want to seem _too_ good or that would give away too much and unwanted questions will rise. In fact, it's taking all his will just to _not_ try and exploit Ven's openings and strike at him. It's obvious that Ven, although pretty skilled, is still in training, since he was leaving so many holes open to attack.

The blond smiled at Roxas, before charging at him again. "HAAAH!" He slashed at Roxas's feet, and he quickly hit, sending Roxas to the ground. Though this didn't hurt him at all, the Nobody decided this was as good time as any to end the spar, any longer and he may accidentally let his own skills show through and that would be bad for him. "Hey- you okay, Roxas?"

"Ow… you hit hard and fast." Roxas groaned from the floor."You see? I told you I wouldn't last long." Ven pouted, and he rolled his eyes. "Well I DID warn you, Ven!"

The youngest student of Eraqus merely continued to pout before he grinned, getting an idea. "Well… if you're not good yet… Maybe we can get Master Eraqus to train you too!"

Roxas quickly sat up, frowning. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, who said anything about training? I mean maybe it would help me win Struggle Tournaments, but I don't think I could take such trainings and pull off the moves you could. Not to mention I don't think your Master likes me very much…"

Ven shrugged, still grinning in excitement. "Well maybe not at first- but don't you want to use one of our Keyblades too? They're really helpful- and you can protect those you care for, too! That's the point Master Eraqus emphasizes the most- that Keyblades are meant to help others first."

"I'm sure they are, Ven, but really, I don't need a Keyblade. Where I live, hardly anything happens anyway." Roxas said nervously, hoping Ven would let it die. "Besides, isn't your Master going to take me back to my hometown after this big exam tomorrow?"

Ven blinked at that, as if just remembering. "...Oh. Right…." He chuckled sheepishly as Roxas rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Forgot for a couple seconds… B-but maybe we both can ask him if you can stay here, even if just long enough to learn how to fight better!"

"Don't you think I would have people back home who are missing me?" Roxas asked him, frowning a bit. _Not that there are any… Hayner, Pence and Olette never knew me anyway… I just made Axel a rouge… Wait, why do I want to leave? I wanted to know more about the Keyblade and why it chose me, but is there any real answer back in Twilight Town?_ "Actually… scratch that, I'm really nothing but a Nobody even in my own world."

Ven frowned at that, opening his mouth to speak before someone else hugged Roxas from behind! "Don't say things like that, Roxas- you seem like a wonderful person, even though it's only been a couple minutes that we've met…" Roxas froze, looking up to see it was Aqua hugging him like a mother would her child.

"U-uh…" Roxas blushed, not used to such affections. _People with hearts do this a lot with people they care about… Axel used to tell me this a lot when I asked him about it… but still…_ "Thanks, um… Aqua, was it? Look, no offense, but…" Squirming a bit, he quickly got out of her hug, trying not to be rude about it. "Why do either of you care about some stranger you just met? Shouldn't you be more wary? That I could possibly be a spy of the darkness and just took on Ven's appearance? Your Master seems to think so."

Aqua shrugged, giving Roxas a small worried frown. "Maybe he is worried, but… You shouldn't call yourself a nobody, no matter what- besides, you look so much like Ven that I feel almost convinced that you wouldn't hurt a fly!"

Roxas looked over at Ven, who was looking down blushing a bit in embarrassment, before looking at Aqua again. "Well… I wouldn't really know… Oh hey, you have the exam tomorrow, right? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

The blue-haired woman nodded, her eyes still shining with concern. "I was heading to bed when I heard you both talking… But I'm sure somebody cares about you at home- and Ventus shouldn't keep you from them!" She bopped said boy on the head when she was done talking. "Shame on you, Ven- you shouldn't keep people from those that care for them!"

"Aqua!" Ven whined a bit, blushing in pure embarrassment and shame. "W-what'd we talk about doing that!? It's embarrassing, and you know it!"

The future Nobody frowned a bit, feeling a little jealous at their interaction. "Heh… You two are almost like a parent and child, or at least like big sister and younger brother. I see people like that a lot when I walk around town…"

Aqua blinked before turning to the future boy, surprised. "... You make it sound like you don't have any yourself."

Roxas shook his head, hesitantly saying, "Well… I don't but-" He was interrupted by a tight hug from the blue-haired woman, and his eyes widened. "H-hey! Why are you hugging me?"

Aqua continued to hug the boy even as he began struggling, her eyes tearing up slightly. "Poor boy… you don't have any siblings or a mother? You must feel _horrible _when people walk by with their family!"

Roxas spoke muffled words in her chest as she hugged him so tightly that he couldn't move his face. He heard Ven laughing as his own face grew red from embarrassment- now he knew how most teenagers felt when their mothers get all emotional. After the smothered future Nobody finally got out of her hug, he took a moment to breathe before saying, "Okay, okay, enough, I'm fine! Geez… I know I'm 15 years old, but I'm not a child, okay? I can take care of myself, I have since I was born…" _Which was a year ago, but you don't need to know that._

Ventus sweatdropped, whispering in Roxas's ear, "Uh… you might want to run now." Confused, Roxas turned to him, not seeing the increasingly 'oppressive' aura around Aqua. "Seriously… Right now, Roxas, I'd- oh, too late…" He winced, and Roxas blinked, lost… before Aqua held him in a hug so tightly he grunted in pain!

"Poor Roxas! You had to take care of yourself for 15 years!? Who would just let such a terrible thing happen!?" Aqua muttered to herself, and to Roxas's surprise, some of those sounded like dark threats to those who let such a young child live on his own without any comfort or care.

"Whoa! You don't understand! O-okay, I may have exaggerated when I said 'since I was born'- the truth is, I only took care of myself for a year… See, I can't remember my life, I only remembered when I was 14 years old, so you can let go now, okay? … Aqua?" Roxas briefly wondered if he just dug himself a bigger hole. "Would it help if I told you a friend of mine took care of me?"

Ven merely shook his head, an amused grin on his face. "Ooooh boy… You just goofed, Roxas… BIG time." Roxas paled before Aqua practically broke his spine with her hug. "Hahahaha!" The boy with his spine intact nearly fell on his butt, still laughing at the sight of Aqua looking so sad while her victim- er, Roxas, struggled to breathe.

"Geez Aqua, let the poor kid go before you completely suffocate him and break his back- you've done that to too many pillows already!" Terra spoke up from behind, putting a gentle hand on Aqua's shoulder.

"Yes, thank you Terra!" Roxas moaned in pain as Aqua FINALLY let him go and he fell on his back, twitching. "You have NO idea how painful that was…" _And I thought Leech Grave had a tight grip!_

Terra chuckled at that, shrugging. "You'd be surprised… Especially with this woman's hugs." Aqua gave him an annoyed glare, and he smiled at her. "But that's why she's like the mother of the three of us- and she fits it to a T."

"Well someone has to take care of you two." Aqua said with a smile, shaking her head in amusement as her glare withered away at his statement.

Ven helped his lookalike up, and Roxas groaned as he got to his feet. "Okay… why is everyone in here? The exam is tomorrow!" Ven frowned a bit, turning to his two friends. "We all really gotta head to bed- I know the meteor shower was amazing and everything like that, but c'mon!"

"Well to be honest, Master Eraqus was asking about Roxas when he didn't see him in his room. It surprised him really since he wasn't expecting Roxas to wake up until morning, it's only been an hour." Terra confessed with a shrug.

"Y-yeah, I'm… a light sleeper." Roxas said with a nervous chuckle. "But look, I'm no spy and I didn't come on here purpose, and besides, it's not like I hold any weapons on me."

Aqua nodded, before frowning. "...You don't _actually _have weapons on you, do you Roxas?" The boy facepalmed. "Well, it's an honest question! You could hurt yourself if you're not careful!"

"Ugh, the closest thing to a weapon in my hands right now is this wooden toy sword. Ven insisted to spar with me… but let's just say that lasted about less than a minute." Roxas shrugged, sweatdropping.

Terra chuckled before looking at the slightly older look alike, an amused grin on his face. "You wanted to spar with someone with no experience? That hardly seemed fair."

Ven blushed in embarrassment, shrugging. "W-well, you know… He said he _did_ fight before, just not the best- besides, I'm always going up against you and Aqua, that gets boring after a while!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry we're so boring for you Ven!" Terra said, mocking hurt as he put a hand to his chest. "I guess we'll have to train you _harder_ then!" Ven paled and the older boy laughed.

"Wait, you fought before?" Aqua asked Roxas, blinking in surprise. "I thought you said you had no experience!"

The future Nobody shrugged, responding easily despite the lie. "Only in Struggle Tournament from time to time, nothing big. It's just a sports game, nothing like Keyblade training like you three seem to do."

Ven then grinned, remembering his idea. "Oh, yeah- I was thinking maybe Roxas could work with us! You know, train so he has a better idea of what he's doing- that way he gets a better idea of who we are!"

Terra and Aqua simply stared at Ven, making the older look alike feel a bit awkward for suggesting that. Roxas crossed his arms, shrugging. "Well I'm sure they don't want some outsider they know nothing about to join such a sacred training ritual."

Ven sweatdropped, quickly shaking his head. "N-no, no, I'm sure they don't mind at all! Right guys?!" He gulped, seeing a slightly ominous aura surround them. "...Guys? C'mon, it wasn't a bad idea!"

Aqua spoke first, frowning a bit. "Ven, Roxas is right about that… Outsiders are not usually meant to be trusted. Master Eraqus is still wary about him and we still don't know much about him."

"I know you want someone else to join, perhaps because he's almost the same age as you, but you should know, Ven, that unless he has approval from Master Eraqus or Master Xehanort, he can't join." Terra explained to their youngest member, shaking his head a bit.

Ven pouted, kicking the ground a bit sadly. "I thought it was a good idea though… Besides, it's not joining- just training together a bit…" he muttered under his breath, looking dejected.

Roxas sighed before smiling a bit, patting his older look alike on the back sympathetically. "Hey, thanks for caring Ven, but I think it's best if we just forget about it now. I'll go back to my room and sleep so you three can get some sleep for tomorrow's exam."

Ven gave the other blond a small smile, but Roxas could tell it was forced- Ven still felt like his idea was just rejected without even putting any thought into it. "Yeah… right- same here, I guess…"

So the four Keyblade Wielders head for bed that night. Roxas laid awake in his bed, knowing he couldn't just sneak out without causing some ruckus, especially from that paranoid Eraqus person. The future Nobody still wondered though… _Who brought me here and why? I want to know… either way, I guess I'll just stick with them until I find out what I'm supposed to do here…_

Roxas turned over in his bed and closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep. This bed was much more comfortable than the one in his chamber room back at the Castle That Never Was.

* * *

The next morning… Roxas felt someone shaking him. The young Nobody grumbled, turning over sleepily. "Not now…" Again, he felt someone shaking him. "Demyx…" he groaned. "Lemme sleep more- I'll get to the meeting in 10 minutes…" But the figure wouldn't stop. "Enough Demyx! And don't you go blasting your cold water on me again!"

"Uh… who's Demyx?" an all too familiar voice spoke up, and Roxas froze. "I'm trying to get you up so you're not late for the Mark of Mastery exam- hurry up, Roxas!"

The young Nobody shot out of bed but ended up tangled in his blanket and falling off the bed and flat on his face! "Wah-" THUD! "Ow…" _Ven's here? … I guess it _wasn't_ a dream after all!_

The boy from the present time laughed, leaning down. "Need a hand up? You look like a mummy with those blankets of yours!" He grinned in amusement, beginning to tug on a corner of the sheets.

"... I guess I was just dreaming again… heh…" Roxas said, embarrassed as Ven helped him out of the tangled mess. "The exam's now? Why so early in the morning?"

Ventus blinked, looking at Roxas in confusion. "What're you talking about? The exam's in an hour or two- you just gotta shower and stuff! C'mon, up and at 'em, Roxy!"

"Ugh!" Roxas groaned as Ven pushed him into the bathroom. "H-hey! Don't push me!" He rolled his eyes as Ventus merely lay on his bed, before walking over to the sink.

During his clean up routine, Roxas couldn't help but think that this whole thing was surreal- first he was living in a virtual reality town and now he's suddenly 11 years in the past, talking with a duplicate and happy-go-lucky of himself and that there's more than just himself, Riku and apparently Sora that wields the Keyblade. Soon, the young Nobody came out of the bathroom, all cleaned up, before Ven all but dragged him out the door! "Whoa! No breakfast!?"

Ven shoved a Pop Tart into Roxas's mouth, but he didn't stop dragging the boy along. "No time, Roxas! We might be late- I'd rather not get Master Eraqus irritated and possibly ruin my chances for my own Mark of Mastery exam before I even take it!"

"Waf fat 'ota do' wif me?" Roxas shouted, his mouth still muffled from the Pop Tart. He munched on it a bit, before taking it out of his mouth with his free hand when Ven gave him a confused look. "I _said_, what's that gotta do with me?!"

The older blond blinked a bit before shrugging. "Well… don't you wanna see a _real_ Keyblade match?" Roxas blinked in surprise at that, before Ven began running even faster, literally dragging the boy along the floor by now!

Roxas does have to admit that he's curious to see how trained Keyblade Bearers battle… Eventually, he nodded. "Fine, but let me go, if you keep dragging me you may make me choke." Ven blinked before smiling sheepishly, putting the Nobody on the ground.

The two look alikes soon made it to the arena where the exam will take place. Master Eraqus, Terra and Aqua were already there. Roxas frowned in curiosity, however, when he noticed another person sitting next to Eraqus. "Who's the old guy?" he whispered to Ven.

The older blond shrugged, whispering back, "Master Xehanort… I don't really see him often, but he's the one who brought me here a while back- at least, that's what everyone said, I don't remember it well."

"Really? I think Terra mentioned him before, but I wasn't really paying attention." Roxas whispered back before both of them focused their attention to Terra and Aqua. Eraqus was giving them a speech about how the Mark of Mastery was not a test of skills but a test of heart, Roxas gave a mental chuckle. _Too bad I don't have one TO be tested on._

Then suddenly, Roxas sensed a strong darkness nearby. Having fought with many, many, MANY Heartless during his year of life with the Organization, he could easily sense darkness nearby, and this one felt _strong_. _What's that? Who could have such a strong and terrible darkness?_ The wary Nobody looked around the room… Xehanort seems to exhibit a lot of darkness himself, but he wasn't the one Roxas was sensing.

The boy in the present time noticed the boy in the future's sudden uneasiness. Thinking it was because of Master Eraqus's suspicions of him, he decided to try and comfort him. "Cheer up, Roxas- Master Eraqus won't suspect you if you just act natural! Don't worry about it, alright? I promise, everything'll be alright!"

Roxas looked back at Ven. _Come to think of it…I can't sense any darkness in Ventus at all… that's not natural…_ "If you say so… But it's Xehanort that gives me the creeps… he kinda reminds me of someone… someone very wise but also very cruel…" _Xemnas… those eyes, they're just like Xemnas's eyes…_

Ven frowned a bit, glancing over at the man himself. "Uh… yeah, I guess…" He gulped nervously, seeing yellow eyes stare right back at him. "...C-creepy…" He shuddered, gulping again.

"Let's just focus on the exam." Roxas said, sweatdropping nervously. "I rather not draw any unwanted attention from two Keyblade Masters." _OR that dark presence…Whatever it is..._

* * *

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Did you like it? I hope so. Now we're going to try and make a few things clear. Key, would you like to start us off?**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Gladly! *gives a small mock bow* Now first off, yes, Roxas doesn't want to show his Keyblades yet. Why? Because frankly, he's been trained to blend in with the worlds he visits- and he's already given enough away, with him calling himself a Nobody, he doesn't need more questions on top of that! After all, he's part of a SECRET Organization, he can't just reveal everything at once, if he has to at all. Fox, you wanna go next?**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ You forgot to say that most of all it's because he's in the _past,_ and he's from the _future_, meaning he _can't_ reveal himself unless he wants to drastically change the present, and most likely destroy the universe, you know how complicated and risky time travel is after all. Also, you may have noticed that Ventus, Aqua, and Terra's characters are a lot more… diversified than they are in the actual games- we do this because it helps give the story more character too. And yes, Aqua may have overreacted, but you have to admit it is pretty funny, and pretty true to her character.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Next on our list is why Roxas doesn't trust Xehanort like the others do. Well, frankly, there are three reasons. First, he doesn't know of or about the man, unlike the others to varying degrees. Second, he senses strong darkness- which is also something we'll cover- inside the man, and he's never had good experiences with that. And third of all, his eyes are just like Xemnas's. Ya know… the guy who tried to use him? Not a pleasant reason to recognize him…**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Now just remember that Roxas doesn't have all of Sora's memories, or at least consciously he doesn't, so he doesn't recognize Xehanort's name, at least not to a certain degree, and he never saw an old Xehanort in Sora's memories either- so yeah, don't expect him to know right off the bat who the man is. And as for sensing darkness, as we had said in the story, we believe that Roxas, being a Nobody and being able to use the darkness to travel between worlds, and having fought countless Heartless all his short life, naturally can sense the darkness around him and in people. The stronger it is, the easier it is to sense the darkness.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ And if you can figure out the other dark presence he sensed, good for you! You earned a virtual cookie! But for those of you who don't, relax, we'll explain it in due process- this is just the second chapter, after all!**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ And as for the battle scenes, I promise they will get better, but for now they're just 'tutorial' stuff, and you know tutorials aren't usually very long or exciting. So just wait and you'll soon get into the good stuff. Now I think we covered everything we need… Oh! One more thing. Key, shall we explain why Ven is so trusting to Roxas yet the others aren't? Especially Eraqus?**

**_Key2DestNE:_ But of course, mademoiselle! Well, first off, it's part of their characters. Ven's the more trusting, naive one, so of course he naturally trusts Roxas the most, even if the others have their doubts. Eraqus is also, from what we can see in his character at least, very stuck in his ways, and finds it hard to believe that someone who looks just like Ven could be up to any good. But for those of you who know the reason Roxas looks like Ven… *winks mysteriously* Weeeeell, that helps too~**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Alrighty then! I think that covers it. If you guys have any questions, feel free to PM either of us and we'll do our best to answer without spoiling anything.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ And until next time, we'll see you all later! Buh-bye! *waves* We'll be sure to add in a special character insert next time too if you're super nice~!**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Now please leave a review on your thoughts of the chapter and we'll see ya next week!  
**


	4. Chapter 3: Troubles with Mastery

**_Key2DestNE:_ Hey guys, sorry we took so long to upload this today! In all honesty… we kinda forgot… *smiles sheepishly***

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Sorry, we kinda decided to trade Pokemon on X and Y, then we battled… Yeah, we forgot, sorry, but it's up now! And it's still technically Friday!**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Now then, this chapter's where some of the action begins. It's the exam, and then you'll see how things begin to change!**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Yes, and poor Roxas is gonna be in the middle of it all! But we won't spoil anything until you read it~!**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Now then, we'll see you at the bottom of the chapter- we hope you like it!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Troubles with Mastery**

Soon, Eraqus took a few steps forward and cleared his throat, making all four Keyblade Wielders stand at attention, Roxas included. He looked at each of them before turning to Aqua and Terra. "...Today you will be examined for the Mark of Mastery. Not just one, but_ two_ of the Keyblade's chosen stand here as candidates- but this is neither a competition, nor a battle for supremacy. It is not a test of wills, but rather a test of _heart_. Both of you may prevail, but neither."

Roxas crossed his arms at that. _Well how would you test it on a Nobody then? That's what_ I_ would like to know… Eh, I guess since Nobodies, let alone Keyblade Wielding Nobodies don't exist yet, that's not really an issue._

The gray-haired man then smiled, looking over to his side. "But I'm sure our guest, Master Xehanort, did _not_ travel all this way to see our youngest prospects in years fall short of the mark. I trust you are ready." Both of them nodded, giving their agreement. "Then let the examination begin!" He summoned his Keyblade, making Roxas shudder slightly, before getting into a pose and causing balls of light to appear.

Terra and Aqua got ready to battle the balls of light, but then suddenly darkness began to cover the orbs. Roxas sensed the darkness coming from Xehanort, and it was at that moment the young Nobody knew that he cannot be trusted. Eraqus seemed surprised by this himself. Roxas frowned before seeing one of the orbs of light coming at both of them!

"Ven! Roxas!" Aqua called out to them as Ven quickly summoned his own Keyblade.

The older blonde knocked it away with a smirk. "Go ahead you two, complete your exam! Don't worry about us- I'll keep the lights at bay!"

"But Ven, it's not safe for you or Roxas out here. You better go back to your room!" Aqua quickly said, worried for both of their safeties. "And Roxas can't defend himself!"

Roxas frowned, looking at the orbs… They were scary and might pack a punch, but they didn't really seem all that threatening. The darkness was pretty weak, at best it would feel like Seifer trying to hit him with a Struggle Club.

Ven shook his head, frowning stubbornly. "Not happening! I've been looking forward to this- seeing you two become Masters! I'm _not_ gonna miss it now!"

Terra frowned a bit before looking at the balls of light and readying himself. "...He can take care of both of them. He's been out there training just as hard as us- and as long as he stays around that area he should be able to block all the balls of light!" Ven nodded in agreement.

"Alright Ven, and protect Roxas too!" Aqua said as she and Terra began slashing at the balls of light.

"Right, you can count on me! Stay behind me Roxas!" the older boy said to his look alike, preparing for battle.

"Right…" Roxas didn't really like having to play the defenseless boy that needed protecting, but summoning his Keyblade here is bound to for unwanted and hard questions- questions he _did not _want to answer, nor _could _answer if they asked him why he has a Keyblade. So the Nobody decided to just act like a coward and stay behind Ven.

Eventually, some of the orbs got past Ventus and came after Roxas, who reacted on reflexes and ducked before getting hit. Roxas frowned, turning to around to see Xehanort's hand moving around… meaning he was controlling where they go and who they attack, but why? Why attack Roxas if he was testing the other three? Roxas was sure he didn't make himself look like he could fight… Was it because he looked like Ven?

"Roxas! Look out!" Ven shouted suddenly, catching the younger Nobody's attention.

Roxas gasped as one of the orbs hit him in the chest and caused him to fall to the floor, it didn't really hurt but he decided not to get up right away to make it appear it hurt him.

Ven rushed over, looking Roxas over worriedly. "A-are you okay? I didn't notice the orb got past me… I'm so sorry!"

"I'll be okay…" Roxas said softly, trying to sound like he's groaning. "Just get rid of them before they attack you…!" Ven gritted his teeth, glaring at the orbs of light around them in irritation. Roxas blinked, seeing that look on 'his' face. _Why does he look so frustrated all of a sudden?_

The older boy glanced down at Roxas for a moment, nodding. "Right- be careful, I'll be back in a couple minutes!" He stood up, beginning to whale on every single orb of light that came close to Roxas without hesitation.

As soon as Ven went and destroyed more of the orbs, Roxas sat up and looked over at Xehanort, he seemed to be focusing on the orbs. The young Nobody wanted to know where that strong darkness was coming from, so he tried to look around while everyone else was distracted. He saw someone in a mask, but he didn't get a good look since the person was concealing himself behind the wall, and if he just casually walked over there that would make Roxas seem more suspicious to Eraqus.

Roxas frowned in slight irritation, glancing at Xehanort again- and he blinked, seeing the man now staring straight at him! Surprised and creeped out by this, he quickly stood up and tried to look down, but he couldn't escape the eyes… It's like they were studying him, like he was some new species of an animal that a scientist wants to learn more about. _Please stop staring at me… please stop staring at me…! He's worse than Xemnas, at least _Xemnas_ knows who and what I am!_

Eventually he glanced back up and saw Xehanort's eyes were finally off of him- and this time, focused on Ventus. Roxas frowned. _Why in the world is he focusing on the two of us? We're not even TAKING the exam right now! … Is it because he's wondering why we look alike? Hasn't he ever heard of a possibility of a twin?_

Roxas then noticed Terra had finished off the last of the orbs and he and Aqua were now standing in front of Eraqus, awaiting further orders. Ven was gesturing Roxas to come stand next to him now that it was safe. The Nobody decided to keep an eye on Xehanort though as he walked over to Ven.

The gray haired Master cleared his throat as he walked down the steps. "Well… That was unexpected. But one must keep a still heart- even in the most trying of times. It was an excellent test- one I _chose_ to let unfold." Roxas rolled his eyes at that. "Which brings us to your next trial." He gestured to the floor and both students on trial nodded, walking out to the middle and getting into their battle stances.

"So they're going to fight each other now?" Roxas whispered to Ven, who simply nodded.

"When two powers of the same level clash, their true nature is revealed. Keep the darkness in your hearts in check." Eraqus explained. "...Begin!"

Roxas looked on at Terra and Aqua, watching them battle each other, their Keyblades clashing. They are more experienced than Ven, so it gave Roxas a chance to watch how people trained under a master fight. At first it didn't seem anything Roxas himself hasn't done already- using some magic, and Keyblades clashing… But then it changed when one of them suddenly began firing some energy of light, almost like a rapid gun fire! Roxas could shoot basic magic from his Keyblade, but nothing to this extent… He watched in awe at this sudden new ability. "What- what is _that_?" he whispered to Ven.

The older human blond shrugged. "It's a Shotlock- pretty basic, actually. I know one too!" Roxas's jaw dropped, and Ven blinked. "...What? You didn't expect it to be basic?"

"W-w-well n-no… I mean, considering I don't use one myself, how _could_ I know, right? I mean it just looks like an advanced move since he shoots out a lot of energy from it…" Roxas felt jealous now, wishing he could've done that… It would've saved him a lot of headaches, especially from the bigger Heartless, like… like Dust Flier from Twilight Town or that big dragonfly Heartless in Neverland.

Ven chuckled, shrugging. "Well, it isn't- not the idea, at least. Yeah, he just shoots energy from it, but… All you have to know is how to compress energy on a Keyblade's tip, and then aim it so you don't just fire it randomly. It's actually really powerful, especially if you make a stronger Shotlock."

Roxas nodded, committing what Ventus just said to memory and hoping to use it one day himself. "Sounds cool then, you'll have to show me yours one of these days."

* * *

The battle went on for a few more minutes, then Roxas felt some darkness in Terra spiked a little before some darkness appeared in Terra's hand. Terra, noticing it, quickly dispelled it before Aqua came down at him and he blocked. A little bit more after that, Eraqus called the match to end and they both stopped immediately and stood at attention.

After speaking with Xehanort for a few minutes, he cleared his throat. "We have deliberated and reached a decision. Terra, Aqua, you both did quite well. However… only Aqua has shown the Mark of Mastery." Each of the Keyblade Wielder's eyes widened in shock. "Terra, _you_ failed to keep the darkness in you sufficiently in check. But… there is always next year, and our current issue with creatures, known as Unversed, may stay for just as long." Roxas blinked, confused by the new term. "That is all. Dismissed- Aqua, wait here for further information on this new threat."

As Eraqus left, Xehanort nodded to nobody in particular before leaving himself, to where Roxas sensed the powerful darkness. Ven hurried towards Terra, wanting to comfort his friend after being shot down. Roxas looked over at them and decided to walk away, wanting to give them some alone time while he tries to figure out that dark presences and what Xehanort is up to.

_It can't be a coincidence… Xehanort is too much like Xemnas for it to be a coincidence. He seems to know about that powerful darkness I've been sensing in this room… I wonder if they're connected?_ Roxas thought to himself, walking in the opposite direction. _Well, I can't risk going after them myself, not like this, or I'm going to get myself into more trouble than necessary. For now… I'll just talk to Eraqus, I need to find out what Unversed are… They might be this timeline's Heartless for all I know._

When he walked up to Eraqus, he nervously cleared his throat. The gray-haired man blinked, turning to Roxas curiously. "Oh, Roxas… What is it, are you ready to depart for home already?"

Roxas frowned, having forgotten that he was promised a way back to his homeworld. "... Actually, I wanted to know about these things you called the Unversed… Are they dangerous?"

Eraqus frowned, closing his eyes and crossing his arms contemplatively. "Well… it is unknown exactly _what_ they are for the time being. However, what _can_ be said is that they are causing danger to the many worlds apart from mine and yours, and they are quite dangerous."

"I see…" Roxas frowned. _So they_ are_ like Heartless then…_ "But if that's true, shouldn't I stay here then? You know, just in case I get attacked by those Unversed? I don't have any weapons to fight with…"

Eraqus frowned in thought at that, looking at Roxas with an odd gleam in his eye. "...I suppose it is possible for you to stay here for the time being, maybe learn more about fighting- but for now, I must go tell Aqua of her new duties as a Keyblade Master. Think about what you would wish to do while here while you wait…" With that, he walked back in, leaving Roxas nearby where he first crashed.

Roxas looked up at the sky, sighing to himself. _What to do… Whoever sent me back in time obviously had plans for me here, but… I still don't know what they could be…_ The young Nobody turned around and began walking, but then jolted when he felt that powerful darkness closer to him! Alarmed, he spun around to see that person in the mask again, but much closer this time. "Wh-what the? What do you want?" He came very close to summoning his Keyblade, but managed to hold himself back, hoping that if this figure didn't deem him as a threat, they would leave him alone and he could avoid drawing attention to himself.

"Hmph…" Roxas saw a boy wearing an odd-looking body suit and a black helmet. "You know, for looking so much like him, you really are a wimp." He turned his head towards Roxas, seemingly smirking. "Besides… aren't you curious about why you both look alike? About what all… _this_… is?" He gestured around. "The new worlds- everything opened up to you?"

Roxas was, in a way, relieved that the powerful dark figure didn't seem to know anything about him and was mostly curious about his similar appearance to Ven, but still… It seems this… boy, he assumed it's a boy, in a mask knows something about Ven. "Well yeah, it has crossed my mind why I looked like him, but neither of us knows why so we just kind of let it go. Besides, how could I possibly leave here anyway?"

The young man slowly pushed off of the rock he was leaning against, holding out a hand. "Simple… You follow me- I know exactly how to get off here… And how to learn why you both look so similar. Doesn't it feel so irritating, to know you look so alike, but act so differently~?"

Roxas felt uneasy, why does this guy suddenly seem interested in him? "Look, as you said before, I'm a wimp. Why bother with a wimp like me just because we happen to look alike? Everyone's got a double out there somewhere, maybe I'm just Ven's double."

The boy shook his head, waving a finger tauntingly. "If that's so… you'd better go after him, am I right~?" Roxas blinked. "Oh come on, don't tell me you're so stupid- he's _leaving_. And if you see him again… you won't even recognize him, Roxas. You'll be all alone again…" With that, the boy turned and opened up a dark portal next to him.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?! Hey!" But the boy in the mask already disappeared. Roxas blinked, surprised. "... The Corridor of Darkness? He can use that?" He shook his head before looking over at the castle, suddenly getting a bad feeling. This prompted Roxas to hurry back towards the castle, wanting to make sure everyone's okay.

* * *

Upon reaching the castle, Roxas saw Terra already walking out. He frowned in confusion, walking over to him. "Terra? What are you doing?"

Terra looked over at him, frowning a bit. "I'm going out right now. I have some things I need to do, Roxas."

"What? What things?" Roxas frowned, growing even more worried now. If _Terra_ was leaving somehow, was Ven really going to do the same? Roxas suddenly felt like everyone's leaving him behind, _again_… Just like with Hayner, Pence and Olette… and… even Axel… and someone… someone else… But he couldn't remember the name…

Terra, seeming to sense Roxas's fears, poked his forehead, making the blond Nobody blink in surprise. "Hey- no need to worry so much, I'll be back before you know it." He gave a small grin, turning, before someone else called out behind both of them.

"TERRA!" Roxas nearly jumped out of his skin, forgetting Ven's voice was just like his own that he almost thought another him was yelling Terra's name. Ven came running over to them, out of breath.

Terra, wanting to hurry and go now, patted Ven's head. "It's okay." he said, giving another smile before pushing the armor on his shoulder and, in a bright flash of light, was covered in armor!

"Whoa…" Both Roxas and Ven said in awe. Terra then pointed his Keyblade into the sky, making a giant sphere appear in the sky. Both boys' eyes widened as the older boy threw his Keyblade into the sky, letting it disappear for a split second before it returned as some kind of vehicle flier. Roxas's jaws nearly dropped at this! HIS Keyblade couldn't do that! … Could it? He never had tried… but… _Well it's not like anyone ever told me about these things!_

Terra quickly jumped on the newly transformed Keyblade, riding it like a motorcycle as he flew into the new sphere in the sky. Ven frowned in thought, glancing at his armor before smacking it.

"What the!?" Roxas blinked as he saw Ven in his armor. "I thought you said you weren't ready to wear it yet!" He looked the newly transformed look alike over. "What changed?"

Ven sighed, turning to Roxas. "I'm not supposed to be… and it looks awesome…" He looked at his hands with what Roxas guessed was a grin. "But… but I have to go after Terra- I won't let him be changed!"

"What do you mean he'll change?" Roxas frowned, confused. "Are you leaving to go with him?" He gulped, remembering what that guy in the mask said.

Ven shook his head, frowning. "No- I'm going after him! After that…" He paused. "After that, I dunno- but I have to find him, otherwise I'll never see him again!"

"W-wait, let me go with you then!" Roxas said quickly. "I want to see what's out there too!" _If Ven leaves… will I _really_ be alone? I… I don't want to take that chance._

Surprised, Ven jerked his head back a bit. "Huh? But… but don't you want to go home? I mean… Master Eraqus is gonna bring you home soon- I don't want him to be mad with you…"

"It's okay, I don't really have much of a home to go back to anyway. And I like to know what it takes to be a true Keyblade Master myself!" Roxas said. "Please, take me with you, maybe you can teach me how to fight like you wanted!"

Ven hesitated before summoning his Keyblade. "...I can't do any rite of initiation like a true Master, but… If you wanna come with… that's fine by me!" He tossed it up into the air, and with a flash of light, it turned into another Keyblade vehicle- this time it was almost a skateboard.

"Whoa, that's so cool!" Roxas was in awe. _I've GOT to learn how to do that with my own Keyblade! It's so much cooler than the Corridors of Darkness!_ "Oh, but… how will I survive out there in space?"

Ven blinked, pausing. "Uh… hmm… Oh- maybe we can raid the armory! …" He sighed. "No… by the time we do that, we can't catch up to Terra…! Um…"

"Well… can't you share some of your armor on me or something? Is that possible?" Roxas asked him. "Or at least get a fishbowl on my head or something?"

Ven hesitated before holding out a hand. "Well- let's try it! C'mon, grab my hand!"

The Nobody nodded as he took Ven's hand, and in a flash of light, Roxas was in an armor exactly like Ven's! But when he let go of Ven's hand, the armor disappeared, "... Huh… I guess it only works if I hold on to you."

Ven nodded, frowning in thought. "Yeah… I guess we'll only use it when in the Lanes Between then- c'mon, jump on!" He quickly jumped on the Keyblade skateboard, holding out a hand for Roxas to use to climb up.

Both Ven and Roxas rode the Keyblade Glider up towards the sky, and to their surprise, they heard Aqua shouting, "Ven! Wait!"

"Eh? I think Aqua wanted to talk to you!" Roxas shouted over the loud rocket and winds.

The older boy just shook his head, still flying towards the giant sphere. "I can't do that- if I wait any longer, Terra's just gonna be gone, I won't be able to catch up in time!"

Roxas sighed, glancing back at the blue-haired woman, along with Eraqus beside her. "SORRY AQUA!" he shouted back just as they flew into the Lanes Between. "I hope she heard me… and I hope she's not mad at me… Women are scary when they're mad…"

Ven nodded, frowning worriedly. "Yeah- I'd better just hope that she doesn't find us!" When they entered 'space', he looked around. "Okay, uh… What's the first world closest to us…?"

"Hmm…" Roxas then noticed one with a lot of woods and a castle. "How about that one over there? It's the closest one."

Ven frowned, trying to go towards it, but his Keyblade skateboard suddenly stopped. "...Huh- we can't go in…" He frowned worriedly. "That… but what if that's where Terra went…?"

"I don't get it, what's wrong? Is there some kind of barrier?" Roxas asked, frowning from within the armor. _That's weird- why the heck would there be a barrier?_

Ven tried flying towards the world again, but his Keyblade flew back a bit. "W-whoa! ...Uh… looks like some kind of shield, yeah… But who would put it there?"

"Who knows… maybe we have to disable it? … Or maybe we should go to another world for the time being. If we can't get in I don't think Terra could either." Roxas said logically.

Ven frowned in thought, before slowly nodding. "Y-yeah… Yeah, probably!" He turned and began flying towards another world as Roxas glanced back at the previous world, feeling the barrier was enshrouded with darkness.

_I wonder if Xehanort or that other guy with the mask had anything to do with it…_ Roxas frowned, thinking as Ven landed to the next nearest world.

* * *

When they landed on a small cliff, Ven dispelled the Keyblade Glider and the armor, looking around. "...Hmm? Wha- whoa!" He blinked, rubbing his eyes as if unknowing what to expect. "Roxas- come over here and take a look!"

Roxas looked down and saw seven little men marching off to a cave… "I see seven little men marching off- do you think they saw Terra?"

Ven grinned in excitement, looking at the men as they walked the rest of the way into the cave. "I dunno, maybe- but either way, this is so cool!" He began to run towards the cave, before light blue creatures emerged from the ground. "W-whoa!"

"Wah?" Roxas jumped, startled. "What are these!?" _They're not Heartless- they have red eyes, not yellow… Are they the Unversed that Eraqus talked about? … Their darkness and negativity are pretty similar to Heartless though._

Ven summoned his Keyblade, quickly getting into a battle ready stance. "Roxas! Get behind me!" He looked around suspiciously, frowning slightly.

"Ven!" Roxas yelped as the Unversed suddenly surrounded them! Neither had time to react when a horde of them pushed Roxas away from Ven! "VEN!" _It doesn't look like he can help me… I guess I'll have to wait until I'm far away enough and take care of them myself!_

Ventus gasped, turning to Roxas and shouting worriedly, "Roxas! ROXAS!" He tried to run after the look alike, but the Unversed blocked his path, so he began bashing them all. "Get outta my way!"

Roxas continued his facade of weak struggles for a little longer until he's in the woods and is sure Ven can't see him. "Okay, now!" He summoned the Kingdom Key and this scattered the Unversed that were carrying him away. "Don't think I'm going down without a fight!" He immediately began whacking away at them with ease, though they were more flexible than Shadow Heartless and more slippery, they reminded him more of Dusks and they weren't too hard for him. Still, there were a lot and Roxas had to be on his toes. "Ha! Yah! Take that!"

Some of the Unversed tried to jump him at once, but Roxas easily jumped out of the way before pointing his Keyblade at them. "FIRE!" He shot out a fireball that burned a group of them before he strike them down. Then he shot out basic magic balls around himself, hitting the other Unversed that tried to lunged at him.

Soon after he defeated them all, Roxas began walking back towards the cliffs. There, he heard Ven shouting his name over and over. "Roxas!? Roxas, where are you!? ROXAS!"

Roxas jumped before he quickly picked up some mud and smashed some over his face and clothes, messing up his hair as well before dismissing his Keyblade and falling to the ground, looking hurt. "Ow! O-over here!" he cried out, trying to sound hurt.

Ventus quickly rushed over at the sound of his voice, sighing in relief. "Roxas, you're okay!" He began to look over the Nobody worriedly. "Are- are you hurt? They didn't do too much damage, did they!?"

"Ugh… I'm… I'm fine Ven… it's okay, I managed to get away…" Roxas said, sounding tired. "Ugh… Let's just… go before they… come back."

Ven frowned, nodding worriedly as he helped Roxas to his feet. "R-right… C'mon, let's head into the cave!" He began to walk with his 'twin' into the nearby cave, looking around. "Wow… That's a lot of jewels!"

"I guess this must be a diamond mine." Roxas said, looking around. "That's a lot of diamonds for a small mine, though…" _I'm going to need a bath…_

Suddenly, some voices spoke up, "Hey, who are you? How did you get here?" The two look alikes turned to see it was those seven little men.

Then one of them, a much more grumpy and angry looking one, snapped, "They're diamond thieves! They're here to take our diamonds!"

Roxas glared, growling out, "Hey! Don't go making assumptions like that! We have no interest in your diamonds!" To his irritation, though, the dwarves scattered, running deeper into the mine- other than a stupid-looking one, who slammed into a wall.

Ven winced, looking away in embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry… I didn't mean to frighten you all…" He gave a sheepish grin as the dwarves slowly emerged.

"We didn't frighten them, they scared themselves with their own assumptions." Roxas frowned, crossing his arms. "Ugh… This is what happens when people don't confirm suspicions!"

One dwarf yawned, sleepily asking, "You mean… you're not here for our diamonds?"

Ven frowned, shaking his head. "N-no, not at all… And it's not very nice to treat us like some sort of bad guys! We just want to find a friend- his name's Terra. He's dressed like me, about this tall…" He gestured higher than himself.

"We ain't seen anyone like that, now git you diamond thieves!" the angry short one snapped, interrupting Ven's description.

Roxas gritted his teeth and had half a mind to knock some sense into that idiot little- "Does it LOOK like we're stealing your diamonds!?" he snapped, glaring at the angry dwarf.

Ven sighed, shaking his head. "Fine- guess we'll have to do this the hard way! C'mon, Roxas!" He began rushing after the dwarves, and they ran back deeper into the mine.

Roxas wanted nothing more than to knock some sense into these dwarves, mostly that little angry one. But as they looked, Roxas sensed some darkness nearby, and frowning, he left Ven to find the dwarves as he followed where the darkness was coming from. _What is that?_

The young Nobody stopped when he saw someone deep in the mine, this one was wearing… a black coat? "Who are you!?" Roxas demanded, knowing the Organization couldn't have existed yet if Nobodies didn't exist yet.

"..." The figure slowly turned to Roxas, crossing their arms. The mysterious figure didn't speak, instead it held out another black coat in front of Roxas and dropped it to the floor.

Roxas frowned, looking at the black coat on the ground before looking up… only to see the figure was gone. _That was weird… who was that?_ Curious, the young Nobody bend down and picked up the coat. "This is… just my size…" _But why would they give it to me?_

He continued to think it over before he heard someone rushing closer, and he quickly folded his coat and hid it in his pocket… Yes, he can keep it in his pocket, how else does he keep all his stuff like Potions and Ethers? Turning, he saw Ventus looking around. "Roxas, why'd you run off?" He frowned, crossing his arms in thought. "I still haven't found a couple of the dwarves…"

"I thought I saw someone running in here but… I guess it was just my imagination." Roxas said with a shrug. _Hmm… Maybe I can use this coat to my advantage…_ "Oh, I think I see one of them over there, Ven!"

The older blond quickly turned, looking around. "W-where!?" he cried out, still looking around. "...I don't see anyone, Roxas." He frowned, turning around- but nobody was there. "...Roxas?"

Roxas was walking out of the mine, feeling bad that he just left Ven like that, but he wanted to check something out… There was another darkness in this world and it felt similar to Terra's. The young Nobody looked back at the mine, frowning a bit. "I'm sorry Ven- I'll be back, but I want to check something out." As he turned, he took out his black coat and put it on, using the hood to cover his face and he hurried towards the woods, passing a small cottage.

* * *

The boy from the future wasn't sure where he was going or what he was looking for, but he wanted to see if he could find some answers as to why he's here… Come to think of it, it seems he's _always_ looking for answers. Roxas was about to reach a clearing when suddenly something appeared in front of him. "Huh?" He jumped back, surprised at the sudden appearance.

It was the boy in the mask, and he seemed almost as surprised as Roxas is- not that the Nobody could really tell since that mask covered the other boy's face. Then again, his own face is sealed away too… "Hang on- who the heck are you?" He crossed his arms. "That cloak doesn't seem familiar at all- so why do you seem so familiar…?"

Roxas stood there for a minute, as if contemplating if he should disguise his voice, before speaking. "I am just a lonely traveler is all. I am only passing through, you need not worry about me." He tried to sound like Saix or Xemnas here.

The boy frowned, his fist clenching. "I see… But you know… you don't strike me as a 'lonely traveler'- you're almost my age, aren't you?"

"I'm only a little short, that does not make me your age, young one. Now if you'll please excuse me, I want to continue to explore." Roxas said, hoping this guy would leave him alone- the amount of darkness this boy is radiating is nearly choking to the young Nobody.

The boy growled, taking a step closer to the cloaked Nobody. "Shut up- NOBODY tells me what to do, got it!? Not you, not that little brat Ventus, NOT ANYBODY!"

"I only wanted to keep walking in peace, I do not know why you are getting angry." Roxas frowned, crossing his arms.

The masked boy was silent for a moment before stepping back. "...Fine- but you'll have to get past me first, 'old man'. It's either that or take another route!"

The young Nobody frowned, but was preparing to turn around when the masked boy suddenly came in front of him again! "H-hey!" Roxas responded by jumping back at his sudden appearance. "Ugh, what do you want!?"

The boy chuckled darkly. "...I've changed my mind. You seem strong… so how about a little… spar?" He held out one hand to the side, and to Roxas's shock, pulled out another Keyblade! This one had a definite gear style to it, and on both ends- the hilt and the blade- was a blue eye that stared at Roxas.

Roxas didn't like where this was going, but it seems the masked boy isn't going to let him go without a fight. The Nobody tried to fight without his Keyblade at first, using only his magic- he fired a Blizzaraga at the masked boy, hoping to freeze him, but the masked boy only deflected it with his Keyblade and charged at him!

"TAKE THIS!" He slashed at the cloaked Nobody, who quickly Dodge Rolled out of the way. "Hmph- running away. Not going to happen!" He charged Roxas again, this time slashing down at his ankles.

"Ugh!" Roxas groaned in pain. _This guy is too tough for me to fight without the Keyblade! Ugh… I guess I have no choice…_ The future Nobody got back to his feet and held out his hand, surprising the masked boy when he summoned the black Oblivion Keyblade. Roxas decided he'll need a heavy hitter like Oblivion to take this guy out. "I guess I'll have to fight you with my own Keyblade!"

The boy was silent for a moment, but he suddenly chuckled. "Heh… I suppose I should have expected such strength from another Keyblade Wielder. Fine then… Let's rumble!" He charged Roxas, doing a triple combo.

Roxas responded by parrying him with his Oblivion, and he managed to get a few hits on him before the boy in the mask shot out some energy beams at him. Roxas's eyes widened from in his hood. _The Shotlock!_ He quickly jumped and began gliding through the air, dodging the energy beams coming at him.

The masked boy growled. "How the heck can you FLY!?" he snapped, firing off a couple more Shotlock strikes before jumping up into the air and slamming Roxas back to the ground with his Keyblade.

Roxas hissed, but he wasn't out yet- he then began to guard against the energy beams from the second Shotlock strikes, sending them back towards the boy in the mask. "I learn from every attack you send at me you know, doing it again will only bring your downfall!"

The boy in the mask then suddenly teleported behind Roxas, seemingly smirking. "Not bad, but not fast enough." Before Roxas could to anything, he strike at the Nobody from behind, sending Roxas into a tree, but the blond recovered quickly and hit the tree with his feet to launch back at the boy in the mask and striking him with his Oblivion.

"Gah!" He chuckled faintly, shaking his head softly. "Not bad… guess I don't have to hold back like I would against that other wimp…" He tossed his Keyblade at Roxas, who blocked it, and it rushed back at the masked boy who quickly caught it. "You've earned the right to my name… Vanitas- don't think of it lightly!" Roxas blinked, startled, and in that one second Vanitas disappeared before slashing at him from behind!

"Argh!" Roxas groaned, falling to the ground slowly before quickly rolling and sliding down on the ground with his Keyblade, hitting at the boy- no, Vanitas's feet. He managed to graze the boy's leg, but Vanitas otherwise dodged it by jumping and slamming down on Roxas! Roxas hissed but used Aero magic to cover himself in blading wind to sting Vanitas the longer he stayed on him.

The newly named boy grunted in pain, jumping off, but he tossed his Keyblade at Roxas, hitting him straight on- this sent Roxas flying back at the tree, and this time he slammed into it, sliding to the ground. "Hmph… You're strong- but not strong enough." Vanitas grabbed his Keyblade out of the air, walking towards Roxas and preparing another strike. "My Void Gear was too strong for you, it seems- one more strike should do!"

"I don't… think so…" Roxas panted, using his Keyblade as a crutch to help himself stand up. "HEAL!" He hastily used Curaga on himself to heal most of his wounds. _This guy is tough, I may have to use Oathkeeper too…_ "Don't count me out just yet… I've still been holding back."

Vanitas growled at that, slashing at Roxas's head. "What!? Why you- fight me with everything you have, you coward! I WON'T let you just pity me by holding back!"

Roxas dodged his slashes, frowning under his cloak. "I wasn't holding back for your sake, Vanitas. I didn't want to have to bring out my full power. But it seems you're too powerful for just one Keyblade alone… Tell me Vanitas, have you ever seen anyone wield two Keyblades before?"

Vanitas paused at that, but he jumped into the air, firing a Dark Thundaga at the ground, forcing Roxas to dodge. "That's impossible… NOBODY can use two Keyblades, not even a Keyblade Master! You're bluffing- and I don't like it when people bluff!" With that, he charged Roxas, slashing as hard as he could.

"Well, that's good because I'm not bluffing… and I _am_ a Nobody." Roxas said as he held out his other hand, and Vanitas stopped in pure shock when he saw him summon Oathkeeper in his other hand, clearly holding TWO Keyblades.

"W-what…?" He dropped his Keyblade in shock, taking a step or two back. "You… you can use _two_!? Who are you!?" He quickly regained his senses, summoning Void Gear to his hand and preparing for another clash between the two- this time seeming much more wary.

Roxas, with two of his Keyblades in hand, began his deadly combos in a frenzy at the masked boy. Like with Axel before him, Roxas was not giving Vanitas time to move or recover, doing as much damage as he could until the boy can get out of his combos. Eventually, Vanitas was able to jump away and didn't seem to want to get too close, knowing getting too close at this rate would only get himself killed. So he would have to try some distant attacks to distract the two Keyblade Wielding boy and get in close with a perfect strike.

Vanitas panted a bit, chuckling under his breath. "Not bad… You've definitely earned that strong aura around you." Roxas blinked at that, before Vanitas jumped into the air and dove back down, diving into the ground as he slashed at Roxas!

Roxas frowned, but knew that a lot of enemies in the past had done the same thing, so he used his two Keyblade as a couple of crutches to lift himself into the air to parry the attack with a CLANG before landing on Vanitas's head with his feet.

The masked boy grunted, falling back. "Ow! Why you little…!" Roxas chuckled a bit, seeing a clear footprint on Vanitas's helmet. "You'll pay for that!" He slashed, causing a giant fireball to emerge, before it split into three, homing in on Roxas.

Roxas remembered Riku did this with his Dark Firaga before, and he managed to guard against the fireballs before he gasped when Vanitas was suddenly above him and slammed his Keyblade at his head! Roxas fell back at another tree. Groaning in pain, the Nobody slowly stood up before giving a small smirk. "Well… I guess… you just activated… my limit."

Vanitas paused, frowning at that. "What? What do you mean by li-" Roxas suddenly charged Vanitas, glowing in pure light! "Whoa!" He tried to dodge, but Roxas slashed at Vanitas, connecting the strike as hard as he could. Next, Roxas summoned these pillars of light energy- they may not be Shotlocks, but they were powerful all the same. The pillars of light struck mercilessly at Vanitas and caused him to be hit way back, all the way into several trees at once!

Eventually, Vanitas groaned, standing up and using his Keyblade as a crutch. "Heh… You're a lot more powerful than I expected." he commented with a small grin that Roxas sensed. "But… I've got one last trick up my sleeve!" Roxas frowned in confusion, before Vanitas vanished and slashed at Roxas's back! The Nobody was sent flying into the tree, and his hood finally fell off from the impact. "Heh… Perfect- now to see-" He froze, seeing Roxas slowly lift his head. "...VENTUS!?" He jumped back in shock as Roxas slowly stood up once more.

"... What?" Roxas in confusion frowned before realizing his hood was off. _Oh dang it, it must've fallen off when I hit that tree! Now he knows who I am…! …No, wait… he thinks I'm Ven?_

Vanitas growled, his hand clenching tighter around his Keyblade. "How in all the worlds did _you_ get so strong so quickly!? And what's with the coat, anyhow!? What, feeling too high and mighty to wear your previous outfit!?"

Roxas responded with casting Curaga on himself so he could at least stand without hunching over. "... No… I'm not Ventus, I'm just Nobody." He still held on to his Oblivion and Oathkeeper in case Vanitas decides to attack again.

"..." Vanitas paused. "...You said that before…" Then he tensed, finally realizing something. "...Hold on… ROXAS!? _You're_ the one who could use _two_ Keyblades!?" Roxas said nothing, and the masked boy clenched his Keyblade again. "Hmph… I should have known- you kept insisting you were ordinary, even though you look exactly like _him_… So this is what you were hiding, hmm?"

"..." Roxas still didn't say anything, he didn't seem too happy that his identity's been revealed, especially to the enemy- he was more worried about what's going to happen now that this Vanitas knows that he can wield not one but two Keyblades. Terra, Aqua and Ven weren't ever going to forgive him if they ever found out…

Vanitas chuckled to himself, shaking his head in amusement. "The old coot's going to have a heart attack when he finds out…" he muttered to himself, sounding excited. "Well… Roxas… I suppose I'll see you some other time." He turned, opening up a Corridor to Darkness. "But we _will_ meet again… You've just changed everything for the better."

"Yeah, well, somehow I highly doubt that." Roxas glared irritably as he watched Vanitas disappear into the Corridors of Darkness.

* * *

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Weren't expecting that, were you? WERE YOU?**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Relax, Fox! … *ahem!* Anyways, I think having Vanitas fight Roxas was a nice touch, don't you all agree~?**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ This is probably one of our longer chapters, and the first taste of how we're going to write battle scenes for Roxas. We won't be describing the lesser enemies much, if at all- we'll only do the important/boss battles since if we had to describe every single fight, we'll get bored, you'll get bored, and everyone gets bored! Things like that should be left in the video games only.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ BUT, at the same time, we'll have more suspenseful scenes, ones that include more character development along with mysteries- such as that figure in the cloak! Now you most likely won't know who it is now, but you'll find out closer to the end.**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ And now… you might be wondering why Vanitas actually went to Roxas and wanted him to leave The Land of Departure when he had no knowledge of the boy. Well, it's because of his strong similarities to Ventus, and he wanted to know what the boy was capable of- he was also suspicious with how Roxas acted too. Don't worry, he still went to Ven to convince him to go after Terra too, he has to anyway to get him to leave. And in the battle, Roxas got a little too hasty and desperate, so he used both Oathkeeper and Oblivion, his signature dual wielding ability- and that's gonna cost him.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Heh… Yeah, it'll cost him a _lot_. *chuckles* Just like him leaving Ven so suddenly… You think the boy's gonna take that so easily? Trust me- he's not. As for why our favorite Nobody did that in the first place… Well, Roxas is still paranoid- he doesn't wanna change the timeline, especially by accident, so he's going to keep trying to avoid the three Keyblade Wielders… At least at first.**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Too bad fate- *ahem* the plot- *ahem* doesn't want that for him~ I think we've covered a lo- oh, wait. You may have noticed that Master Eraqus's speech mirrors the one in the game. The reason for that is because, like we said in the Prologue, we want to keep it as close to the game canon as possible, but with our own twists.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Precisely- so while we may quote some lines from the game verbatim, more formal things, such as Eraqus's speech, will be as close as possible, if not exactly alike, the game, with maybe one or two adjustments to fit Roxas in.**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Okay, now, I think we covered everything. If anyone has any questions… You know, questions that involve the story or if something doesn't make sense to you, ask away. But please no trivial questions like 'what style or elements' Roxas uses- you should know if you played the game, if not at least have an idea when we do the battles. And don't ask 'what's going to happen next', because that would be spoiling the story.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Besides, the worlds will be the same, even if the events will be vastly different- including a few boss battles we fit in just for our favorite Nobody~ *winks* Have a good night, everybody- and don't forget to read and review!**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ And spread the word- we want a lot of people to read and enjoy this, both of us put our hearts and soul into this story, so we'd really appreciate it if more people read and review! So, until next time… see ya!**


	5. Chapter 4: Hiding One's Self

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Hey readers, Kingdom Hearts and Roxas's fans! So glad to be here today!**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Yep, that's right- it's time for Roxas's Story to be updated! This is around the time that we REALLY get into the action and the story, so be sure to stick around- we'll always be sure to add one little twist to keep you going!**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ And this will show you how the transition between Ven, Terra and Aqua will work since Roxas will end up with three of them during their journeys here. Also, I want to discuss some issues the reviewers had for the story. Some were worried we'd make Roxas too overpowered, but the truth is, he IS in a whole other league compared to the three in-training students, even Aqua. Remember, this takes place AFTER 358/2 Days.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ *nods* Precisely- besides, this is in the beginning of their own growth, so as strong as they were in the beginning of the game, you have to remember they'll be a lot stronger by the end. It's similar to Before and After pictures- Roxas is at the end of the game, while Ven, Terra and Aqua are all at the beginning, so of course there's a bit of a leveling difference for now!**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ But if you're still worried we made Roxas 'too overpowered', just keep reading the story. We went into it knowing the strengths and weaknesses the young Nobody has, and we know what we're doing- we're trying to keep it as close to canon as possible, as well as adding our own personality spices to it, so if Roxas IS too strong for a certain enemy, it's because he was strong in his own right, not because WE made him too strong. But trust us, his own powers will not make the story 'too bland', okay? We've found ways to adapt to his own levels compared to the other three.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Right- now onto the next complaint. One of the reviewers suggesting flat-out making Roxas replace Ventus. Well, while that WAS a possibility, in all honesty, their personalities are too far apart- Ven's a happy-go-lucky optimist most of the time- much like Sora- while Roxas is much more pessimistic Nobody. It'd be difficult to mix them up like that… Not to mention their clothes, their Keyblades- honestly, that'd make MORE questions than this.**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ I think they were mostly complaining how 'time travel in Kingdom Hearts don't work like that'. And how do you know? Time travel doesn't have any specific rules, there could be multiple ways to travel through time- Young Xehanort's is just ONE way, it doesn't mean it's the ONLY way.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ That's true… Well anyways, we've kept them too long- we'll put any more announcements at the bottom. For now, on to the story! *presses a button to start the script***

* * *

**Chapter 4: Hiding One's Self**

With the threat, Vanitas, gone, Roxas dismissed both of his Keyblades and he sat down, sighing tiredly as he groaned. "Can't believe how badly I screwed up… I should've just stuck with Ven…" he muttered to himself, now realizing just how badly he might have ruined the timeline by now. "Vanitas knows… and he's probably working with someone else- whoever brought the Unversed forth- so the big bad knows…!"

"UUUUGH! I can't believe how STUPID I am!" Roxas shouted to himself in frustration, punching the tree behind him as he slowly stood up.

"Why do you think you're stupid?" a woman said suddenly, catching the boy off guard.

"Wah!?" He jumped in shock and grabbed his hood as if hoping whoever spoke to him didn't get a good look at his face!

"Oh dear, I didn't mean to frighten you." the woman spoke softly as Roxas turned, his face completely flustered, and he saw it was indeed a young pretty woman with black hair, wearing a blue and yellow dress. "I'm sorry…"

Roxas blinked, slowly putting the hood down. _…Wasn't this woman from… Sora's memories…? Probably… but I only saw her briefly... _"Uh… it's fine… What's your name, miss?"

"Oh, it's Snow White, it's nice to meet you." she answered happily, giving a cheerful smile.

"Uh… h-hi, Snow White… um… What are you doing out here?" Roxas asked her, frowning a bit nervously.

"Oh… well I met with a nice young man earlier while I was picking flowers, but these weird and scary creatures chased me here. I was so scared… but a nice boy who… looks an awfully lot like you told me to go to a cottage around here, he's scouting ahead for anymore monsters. Are you two twins?" she asked curiously, tilting her head.

Roxas blinked before connecting the dots, and his eyes widened in surprise. "I think you spoke with Ven… Wait, who was the 'nice young man'? Did you get his name? Could you explain what he looked like?"

Snow White frowned in thought, before slowly nodding. "I believe your twin… Ven, was it? He said the man's name was Terra…" She smiled brightly. "Are you looking for him too? Ven said he was, and for a someone who looked like him named Roxas… are you Roxas?"

Roxas gave a nervous chuckle, "Uh… well… Y-yeah, I am, but I'll go see Ven later. I want to see if Terra's okay." He glanced around, shrugging. "Do you know where you saw him? I'll try to work from there!"

Snow White smiled, giving a bright nod. "Uh-huh, I think so- it's… that way, I think!" She pointed behind her, and Roxas blinked, seeing a light a bit far off in the distance- most likely the exit.

"... Um… well… thanks, but maybe you should-" Roxas was about to say something when he heard Ven's voice.

"I think they're mostly gone!" he called out, and there was rustling in the direction of his voice. "Ugh- hang on, I'll be right there!"

Frowning, Roxas turned to Snow White. "Well it looks like you're in good hands. But you never saw me, so I gotta go, bye!" he said rather quickly before running off to where she pointed him.

Soon, the now cloaked Nobody burst out of the woods and emerged in a meadow. Roxas blinked, looking around to see nothing but flowers and green grass all around him. Off in the distance was a large castle, and Roxas whistled at how huge it was… It looked bigger than the clock tower back home! "Nice… I wonder if Terra's in there?"

Roxas ran into some Unversed along the way, but they weren't too much of a threat, he just used his Kingdom Key to take care of them until he reached the castle. "... Oh geez, this place is such a maze!" He then sensed some darkness ahead, one of them was small and felt like Terra while the other was much larger and … kind of creepy. Roxas hurried towards where he felt the darkness, frowning in worry.

The young Nobody soon came up the stairs and hid behind the wall when he heard talking, and he peeked from the wall and saw Terra arguing with an elegant yet cruel looking queen, and she must be one with the large amount of darkness he was feeling earlier. Roxas looked at his coat, frowning in thought. _Should I hide my face or take this off? … well… I don't want to risk Terra finding me suspicious and fighting with me… Worlds know I can't risk getting discovered AGAIN. But then he'll probably wonder why the heck am I here…_

As Roxas thought to himself, he didn't even notice Terra getting sucked into the mirror next to the woman! His thoughts were suddenly halted as he heard someone talking to him. "How did another one of you get in here!? Begone!"

Roxas jumped and noticed Terra was gone. "Wha- What did you do with Terra!?" Roxas demanded as he grabbed his coat, she already saw his face so no point in hiding it, so he threw off his coat, at least this way if Terra saw him he'll see him as Roxas rather than a suspicious figure. The Nobody made a mental note to pick it up later.

The queen frowned, crossing her arms. "Hmph- you mean that lying brute? He is being dealt with as we speak. Now get out, right now!" She pointed to the door behind him, glaring irritably.

"What? Where is he!?" Roxas demanded as he noticed the mirror beside her was covered in some kind of green goop… And that's when he saw Terra running around in there, smacking a creepy face. "... Okay… mirrors… right…" He then looked over at her before seeing a dark aura around her. "Wh-what's happening to you?"

The queen scowled, turning and picking up a staff. "If you won't leave willingly, you little brat, I suppose I'll have to force you out!" She turned back to Roxas at that, waving the staff around as the dark aura increased.

Roxas glared. _Great, I get one fight right into another… Eh, it's nothing really new, but it gets old after a while. _He jumped back and summoned his Kingdom Key again, he sensed she's pretty wicked and somewhat strong, but nowhere near Vanitas's level, he knew he could handle her, he just has to be careful.

The queen looked angry as she saw a similar weapon in the boy's hand. "You! So you DO have another one of those swords! I will CRUSH you!" She seemed to be controlling several bottles of potions around her, all aiming for the Nobody.

"... Uh-oh…" Roxas quickly used Reflect as she forced all the potion bottles at him. Reflect created a shield barrier around Roxas and it kept him from getting hit and possibly mutated from those dark potions. "Okay, glad I know how to use Reflect…" Then he tried charging at her, but he was having trouble trying to get in without getting hit by those potions. "Whoa!" He dodged the splash from one of the potions, although it was very close to hitting him.

The queen scowled, beginning to wave the staff around. "You won't be escaping this!" She began sending magical waves at Roxas, and the boy kept on trying to dodge.

Roxas was trying to figure out the best way to get in close to her without getting hit, but he knew he had to risk it or this battle would go on forever. The young Nobody jumped and glided at her, barely dodging those waves, though some did hit him. Each waves hurt differently, one burns, the other felt like a sharp ice shard hit him, another electrocuted him while another felt like it was suffocating him with poison, Roxas knew he had to watch himself here, this lady obviously knew her magic.

Eventually, Roxas got close enough that the waves, which started a couple feet away from the queen, could no longer hit him. She scowled, before hitting him upside the head with her staff! "Begone, you horrible, horrible _brat_!"

Roxas hissed before he whacked the staff out of her hand with his Keyblade, and with her defenseless, he began whacking her with his air combos since she was floating in mid-air. He managed to get some good hits on her before she recovered and send him back with a huge wave of darkness, almost making him hit the wall. "Why you little- don't _touch _me, you monster!" She grabbed her staff, beginning to toss the potions at him once more.

Roxas, having seen this attack before, decided to get a little more bold this time. He hit one like a baseball with his Keyblade and sent the bottle back to her! The queen let out an ear deafening screech as she was hit by her own potion, and she seemed to be paralyzed as if hit with electricity. Roxas took this chance to charge at her and hit her again. This time, he managed to slam her into the ground.

By now, the queen seemed to be getting desperate, and she began summoning more waves of darkness. Roxas gasped when he looked up and saw furniture was floating around him, they too were covered in darkness… It seems the queen was controlling them. Before the boy could react, though, the pieces of furniture flew straight for him, hitting Roxas right in the head.

"Agh!" He gritted his teeth in pain, getting battered by wooden pieces hurt- but he managed to do a Reversal on one, and began to run from the huge onslaught of wooden furniture as they crashed into the ground behind him. Soon, though, the queen ran out of furniture and she resorted to larger magical waves, ones Roxas could barely dodge.

_Ugh, I hate this attack!_ Roxas was trying his best to escape them with Dodge Roll and Glide, but they were coming in fast and there were so many of them… A few did manage to hit him, he got burned and electrocuted from some. "HEAL!" He had to cast Curaga on himself a few times, especially whenever he got poisoned. Finally, he used his Keyblade as a boomerang and tossed it at her! The Keyblade hit her twice as it came back to Roxas's hand, and he finished it with aiming the tip of his Keyblade at her and shooting a beam of light from it. The light caused her to scream as the darkness that was controlling her faded.

"Ugh… guh…!" She gasped, clutching her heart in pain. "F-fine… Stay here, you brat!" She rushed past him as fast as she could, but Roxas quickly held out his Keyblade to stop her. "What do you want now!?"

"Stay here, I'm sure Terra will want to have a word with you once he gets out." Roxas said to her. As if on cue, the mirror began to glow, and the young Nobody quickly dismissed his Keyblade just before Terra himself came out of it.

The brown-haired Keyblade Wielder took a moment to regain his bearings, as the queen gaped in shock. "H… How did you escape!?" she demanded. "The mirror was supposed to-"

Terra gave her a glare, dispelling his own Keyblade. "Well you don't mess with someone like me." Then he noticed Roxas and blinked in surprise. "... Ven? … No… Roxas? What are you doing here? … HOW did you get here?"

Roxas gave him a nervous grin, scratching the back of his neck. "Uh… funny story…" he started to say. "But… uh… maybe I can tell you later, didn't you have something you wanted to ask this queen?"

Terra frowned a bit, giving Roxas one more glance before walking towards the queen. "Now… Tell me where I can find Master Xehanort, now!"

Said queen gritted her teeth, before tiredly turning to the mirror. "Magic mirror, instruct this knave- give him the answers he doth crave!"

The mirror paused for a moment, before saying, "Beyond both light and dark he dwells, where war was waged upon the fells." Roxas frowned, still surprised that Terra was searching for Master Xehanort, but also just confused by what the mirror meant.

Terra seemed to be thinking too, before looking back up at the mirror. "Is that all?" the mirror didn't answer, probably because it only answers to the queen herself. "... Right, well thanks, you were a big help. Now Roxas… Come with me, we need to talk."

Roxas gave a nervous nod, gulping slightly. "R-right…" He turned and quickly took his black coat on the floor before he followed Terra out of the castle. "So… uh… what did you want to say?"

Terra took a deep breath before crossing his arms, a slightly irritated look on his face. "How did you follow me? And for that matter, why are you here now, Roxas? You should be back at the Land of Departure- I'm fine!"

"Well, about that, see… Ventus seems to be worried about you and decided to-" Roxas was about to explain until Terra interrupted him, wanting to scold a 'naughty and defenseless kid' for leaving 'the safety zone' and into dangerous territory like that.

"Roxas, you shouldn't have followed me, no matter what Ventus thought!" he said, still frowning in irritation. "I know you both care, but nothing has happened to me- I'm simply following a mission, that's all!"

"A mission? For what and for whom? Eraqus?" Roxas frowned, crossing his arms in irritation. "You seem to be looking for Xehanort, is that what Eraqus told you to do?" Of course, since Roxas wasn't trained by Eraqus himself, he doesn't consider him his own master.

"..." Terra hesitated. "Well… Yes, but I'm not sure you need to know that." He sighed. "Master Xehanort's gone missing… and the princesses of heart are in danger- so Master Eraqus instructed us to eliminate the Unversed and find Master Xehanort. Hopefully now… I can finish part of the mission and return home- something _you_ should do, Roxas! Go home- it isn't safe without a weapon or experience!"

"Well, that's the thing… my home doesn't really exist anymore… and I have no way back to the Land of Departure on my own… You see, Ven-" Once again, Terra interrupted him.

"Well, if that's the case, I'll have to bring you back myself." He sighed. "I suppose you're sticking with me for now… I'll have to find Master Xehanort- then we'll head home." Then he frowned a bit. "...Now what were you saying about Ven?"

"I was saying that's he's-" Roxas about to say when Unversed suddenly appeared before them. _Seriously!? What's with all these interruptions!?_

Terra frowned, summoning his Keyblade. "Roxas, stay back!" he quickly commanded. "I'll handle these- then we'll head to another world to find Master Xehanort!"

"You're really going to take me with you?" Roxas asked in shocked, he was sure Terra would try and send him back to the Land of Departure first before looking for the creepy old coot.

Terra grumbled, nodding irritably. "Well, you're unable to return home on your own- and I'm not going to return home myself until my mission is done! But if we see Aqua, I'm going to pass you on to her- apparently she's more experienced, so she could keep you safe better!"

"Hey! Don't treat me like a kid." Roxas pouted as Terra swipe his Keyblade at the Unversed. The Nobody watched Terra's moves as he fought, he was a lot more slower than Vanitas and Ven were, but his strikes were a lot more powerful and his techniques more than make up for it. The Unversed were soon defeated and Terra threw his Keyblade, turning it into the Glider.

Then the man summoned his armor, turning to Roxas. "I suppose you'll have to climb on- but do you have a way to protect yourself against darkness?"

"Um… well… Could your armor keep me protected?" Roxas asked, remembering how Ven's armor spread to him as long as he was touching him. "I think it might be able to work!"

Terra frowned inside the armor. "...I'm not sure how you plan to use my armor- it's too big for you, and-" Roxas touched him, and the armor appeared on him. "...I guess that might work."

Terra gave a shrug as Roxas jumped on and he flew up into the Lanes Between. Roxas looked down at the world he was leaving, remembering that he just kinda left Ven. _Sorry Ven… I hope you'll forgive me._

Terra flew through the Realms In-between World with Roxas clinging to his back, and though the older man wouldn't admit it, he gave a soft smile from within his armor, easily imagining Ven, who's like a little brother to him, doing the same.

Soon, he noticed a large tower in the distance. "Roxas… A man called Master Yen Sid lives in the tower up ahead- he's the one who gave Master Eraqus his information… Maybe he'll help us with the mirror's hint!"

"Sounds like he's a wise old wizard." Roxas said as they walked towards the tower, and suddenly, a humanoid mouse came running outside, holding up a Star Seeker Keyblade and a… star-shaped thing in his hand, and it glowed before the mouse disappeared and a crazy shooting star moved around in the sky in a very whacky demeanour.

"... Wha- who was that?" Roxas blinked, having never seen that mouse before… except maybe… _Was that… King Mickey? What's he doing here?_

Terra blinked as well before shrugging. "I'm not sure… It might be his apprentice, though- I heard Master Yen Sid had taken one." With that, the two walked inside, and Roxas stared up at the top floor, waaaaay above their heads. "This might take a while… Do you need a piggyback ride?" Terra joked.

"... I think I can walk all the way up…" Roxas said, blushing a bit from being treated like such a kid, at least Axel treated him more like an equal after he stopped acting like a zombie. Then again he never gave Terra any reason to think he was anything else otherwise.

Soon, more Unversed began appearing, Terra decided to run away to take care of them to make sure Roxas was 'safe' from them. The Nobody was getting tired of not being allowed to fight. When the area was cleared of Unversed, Roxas asked, frowning a bit, "Why don't you loan me a weapon or something I could use to defend myself with?"

Terra frowned, shrugging. "I'm sorry, Roxas… I don't have anything- but maybe you can get something from Master Yen Sid. Or if you see Aqua, she can give you the Initiation Ceremony for a Keyblade."

"Oh come on, I don't need a Keyblade, I could get by with something like a sword or a club!" Roxas said, hoping he would reconsider. "I don't need an initiation ceremony for anything!"

Terra shrugged. "Well, as I said, maybe Master Yen Sid has something…" He frowned a bit. "Other than that, though, I'm not sure of anything else other than the Keyblade."

Roxas sighed, crossing his arms and looking forlorn. "Well… I don't know… you and your Master seems to make a big deal about these Keyblades and how it has to be certain people to wield them. I don't think I'm anything special, not special enough to wield a Keyblade myself."

Terra blinked before chuckling softly. "You know… Ven said the exact same thing once." Roxas's eyes widened at that. "He didn't know if he'd be able to get his Keyblade… He was worried- so I gave him something to make him feel better…"

"What'd you give him?" Roxas asked curiously.

"A special little wooden Keyblade. It's not a real Keyblade but it gave him the confidence he needed to finally wield one." Terra said, smiling softly at the memory.

"... Wow, that sounds pretty cool. But yeah… I don't think I should wield one, I'm still just an outsider to you guys." Roxas said with a shrug as they reached the door.

Terra frowned a bit, but he said nothing more, knocking on the door. When they were given the signal to open it, he walked in and instantly stood at attention. "Master Yen Sid." he murmured to himself, seeing the man staring out the window. "...My name is Terra, sir."

Roxas blinked before standing attention himself, saying nervously, "A-and I'm Roxas, sir."

Yen Sid nodded, turning to the two and sitting down in his chair. "Ah yes, I've heard about you,Terra, from Master Eraqus. You, though… Roxas… shouldn't you be back to your homeworld?"

Roxas frowned, looking down nervously. "It's just… I… don't really have much of a home to go back to…"

The elderly man nodded softly, giving a faint frown. "I see. Now, Terra… I believe I know why you came to see me- it's the Unversed, isn't it?"

"Yes Master… They've been spreading to the other worlds lately… and I'm supposed to find Master Xehanort too. I only had a hint as to where he is, but I still don't know. I was hoping maybe you could help me find him." Terra explained, giving a soft frown. "And… there's also a masked boy, apparently controlling the Unversed- I need to find him too."

"Um… you have any weapons I could use to defend myself with?" Roxas asked cautiously. _I really need SOMETHING, this is getting so irritating…!_

Yen Sid frowned in thought, stroking his beard. "I see… I believe that I hold something in the back for your defense wishes, Roxas. Now, Terra… You may have to look at the issue from another standpoint- consider your fight with the boy and the disappearance of Master Xehanort to be one and the same problem."

While Yen Sid was talking to Terra, Roxas went to the back. "Hmm…" He looked around, not really seeing much of anything other than mirrors and some Keyblades that were most likely not being used… "What's in here? Are there any shields or spears or possibly chakrams I could use?" he asked, mostly to himself.

Still a bit confused, he turned and nearly ran into another mirror. "Whoa!" He jumped back, before noticing something… His reflection was holding a weapon! "What the!?" He looked at the weapon in confusion… Then his eyes widened- it was him in the Organization XIII coat and using both Oblivion and Oathkeeper! Roxas frowned, "... Is this… some kind of truth mirror?"

"Alright, I'll see what I can do. Thanks Master Yen Sid. Roxas, we have to g-" Terra walked in and Roxas jumped and quickly covered the mirror. "... Did you break a mirror?"

"... M-maybe… U-uh… did you say we have to go? Then let's go!" Roxas said a bit too quickly, trying to push Terra out, but the guy's a freaking body builder.

Terra frowned in disappointment, shaking his head. "Roxas… Why'd you have to break a mirror? Master Yen Sid is going to be furious- and what about a weapon? Did you find one yet?"

"N-nothing I can use, all I see are unused Keyblades here. Now let's go, I'm sure I'll be fi- whoa! Ugh…" Roxas was still trying to push him, but Terra moved and made Roxas lose his balance and fall on his face.

Terra sighed, moving up to the mirror. "Roxas, you have to apologize and not…" He trailed off, taking the cover off the mirror. "...You said you broke this? It's perfectly intact- what's the issue?"

"O-oh, well… I guess it's a magic mirror and can fix itself… O-okay, it's not broken, so let's go!" Roxas wanted to chew himself out for acting like this, he knew that Terra can see he's clearly trying to hide something. _Why am I screwing up so badly lately!? I'll be lucky the universe doesn't _explode_ after all this!_

Terra frowned in thought, beginning to look the mirror over. "...Did you see something in the mirror, Roxas? Maybe a weapon you didn't like? You're acting like Ven when he stole all the cookies from the cookie jar…"

Roxas began snorting at the mental picture, Ven? Stealing cookies from a cookie jar at THAT age? Wow… just wow. But his humor was short lived as Terra looked into the mirror himself. "So… this must be… the Mirror of Truth." Terra said, crossing his arms.

"What about it?" Roxas frowned, slowly backing further away from the mirror. "W-what's the big deal, Terra?"

The brown-haired man turned to Roxas, frowning in thought before sighing. "...You saw yourself holding a weapon you didn't want, didn't you?" he asked, although it sounded more like a statement.

Roxas crossed his arms, glancing away nervously. "... Not really…" _Because I've always held those weapons…_ "Look, let's just go, I'll find a weapon in another world. Didn't you say we had to go? I'm sure Xehanort's waiting for you."

Terra frowned a bit more, but he sighed. "Oh, alright…" With that, he walked out the door, Roxas following him- but not before giving another glance at the mirror, which still showed him wearing the coat and holding two Keyblades.

_I wonder if Yen Sid knew about me…_ Roxas briefly wondered to himself before following Terra out, who summoned the Keyblade Glider along with his armor. Roxas held onto Terra, allowing the armor to gather on him, and took off into the world.

"So where are we going?" Roxas asked, frowning curiously. "...Did Master Yen Sid give you a destination?" Terra frowned, shaking his head, before his head perked up.

"...I think I know where to go." Terra suddenly said as he rode the glider into… a wasteland?

"... Why would Xehanort come to a wasteland?" Roxas asked, frowning in confusion as they landed. Then, to his surprise, he noticed the bald-headed man himself. _Oooooh boy… _"...Well, it looks like you were right, at least…" _I… am… so… SCREWED… Okay, okay, act natural… M-maybe Vanitas didn't tell him yet…_

Terra frowned, crossing his arms. "Xehanort… I've been to other worlds- I _know_ what you've done!" His glare slowly disappeared, though, to be followed by confusion. "I just… don't understand _why_…"

Roxas mostly stayed behind Terra as Xehanort turned to them. Those creepy yellow eyes seemed to bore into him, despite being behind Terra, making Roxas's skin crawl. _I really, really HATE that look._

Xehanort sighed, shaking his head sadly. "Someone had to safeguard the light… from the demon _I_ unleashed…" Roxas blinked at that, before cringing again as Xehanort glanced at them. "But… why in the worlds would you bring Ventus along? He belongs at home, Terra…"

_Wait? He thinks I'm Ven? … I thought he'd at least be able to tell us apart by our clothing! I don't have the armor on!_ Roxas thought irritatedly to himself, facepalming.

Terra looked back at Roxas before shaking his head, frowning. "This is Roxas, Master… Not Ven, but you're right in saying he doesn't belong here… I should take him back to the Land of Departure before going anywhere else."

Xehanort nodded, before turning away. "...You must know about the boy by now- the one in the mask." Roxas frowned in confusion. "His name is Vanitas- a creature of pure darkness… And sadly… one of _my_ making…!"

Roxas creased his eyebrows in confusion. _What? He makes it sound like he regretted making Vanitas… but Vanitas seems pretty loyal to him- as far as I could tell, at least… So what in the world is going on?_

"Vanitas? … Are you telling me he came from you?" Terra asked in confusion while Roxas remained silent.

Xehanort shook his head and said, a saddened tone in his voice, "... He… came from Ventus."

Roxas and Terra were both in shock at this, and they both shouted together, "VENTUS!?"

The old bald man nodded, beginning to explain. "Yes… Vanitas was the darkness that was inside your friend. It was an accident… while training with me, Ventus succumbed to darkness, and there was only one way to save him… strip that part of him away… and thus, Vanitas was made. And in the process, I damaged Ventus's heart… in the most horrific way. So… I did what I felt was right and left him with Eraqus. I knew he could not stay with me… the man who gave him such a grievous harm…"

Roxas frowned, crossing his arms- he saw Xehanort looking regretful about this, and yet… He couldn't help but be reminded of when Xemnas was telling the Organization to use HIM and his Keyblade to slay the Heartless to create Kingdom Hearts… Despite being a Nobody and having no real emotions, Xemnas seemed utterly passionate about it. Xehanort here… it's… almost like an act, but Roxas knew if he had said this out loud, Terra wouldn't believe him and Xehanort would not only deny it but then claimed him as a suspicious spy or something.

"But Master, Ventus's gotten a lot better over the years… you shouldn't blame yourself for trying to save him." Terra said, hoping to comfort the old master.

_That is IF you were trying to save him._ Roxas mentally added. But he knew he couldn't say it aloud, so he nodded. "Yeah- you were in the right, despite what happened!"

Xehanort sighed, looking back at them for a moment. "Thank you, lads… You know how to put an old man's heart at ease." Terra sighed in relief, though, seeming to be glad about something.

Roxas looked over at Terra, frowning in confusion. "What's up?"

Terra just shook his head, smiling slightly. "It's just… I remember a time when Master Xehanort first brought Ven to us… he was almost like a total zombie. And now… now it all makes sense."

"... A zombie?" Roxas blinked, surprised. _Ven was… a zombie before? … It's getting creepy how much alike we really are._ "Why was he a zombie before? Did something happen to him?"

Terra nodded, crossing his arms. "Yeah… Apparently Ven couldn't remember a thing and how to speak a tiny bit- so when we started asking him a few questions… his head hurt."

"... He lost his memories? … That's… pretty bad…" Roxas didn't want to admit how similar they were… He didn't remember anything about his own past either, it was scary how much they mirror each other, not just in looks but in their lives too.

Terra nodded, before his face grew serious and he turned to the man before them both. "Master Xehanort… Why is Vanitas still free? Shouldn't you have destroyed him, or locked him away?"

Xehanort sighed, shaking his head. "I did my best to contain him the moment he came out… but unfortunately, I have the same body as I did then, and…" He trailed off.

"He managed to escape?" Terra frowned as Xehanort nodded.

Roxas crossed his arms, not sure if Xehanort was telling the truth. The darkness in Xehanort was almost unbearably high, almost up to Vanitas level. "So… you want Terra to go find and destroy him for you?" he spoke up, guessing where the old man was going with this.

Xehanort nodded, walking closer to them. "Vanitas uses the Keyblade to sow seeds of darkness. And now you see that the worlds teem with his ghastly underlings… He has _no_ control over the darkness in his heart. The Keyblade is _not_ his to bear! He's… an abomination, beyond all hope of salvation. Help me right this wrong that I have wrought, Terra- lend me your strength!"

Roxas frowned… that wasn't… how Vanitas was when _he_ met him. Granted it was for a short time but… _Vanitas seemed pretty loyal, other than when he mentioned Ventus and some old coot… I don't get it… why is he acting like Vanitas is some out of control monster? From what I can see, he's not out of control or anything as he said… in fact… he seemed to be suffering a lot…he seemed… almost desperate for something, kind of like how I was when… when… something… happened to… someone… I can't remember._

Terra on the other hand didn't see any reason to doubt him. "But… I have no idea where to find him…"

Xehanort began to explain, but Roxas noticed Terra gasped for a moment, as if shocked about something. "What I can tell you about Vanitas is that he's looking for the light he has lost… and destroy it." He nodded in thought. "It stands to reason that he will next strike in the city of light, Radiant Garden."

Roxas blinked, looking at Terra in surprise. _I wonder what made Terra shocked…_ "What? What is it?" he whispered. "Did you figure something out?"

Terra frowned a bit, whispering to Roxas, "I'll… tell you later." Then he looked back at Xehanort. "Don't worry, Master. I'll take care of Vanitas. C'mon, Roxas…" And with that, he turned and began walking away.

"Oh, and Terra… You might want to leave that boy Roxas to me, I can take him back to his homeworld where he belongs." Xehanort said suddenly, making Roxas very uneasy.

"W-what? N-no, I want to stick with Terra!" Roxas quickly said, sounding like a rebellious teenager. "C'mon Terra, take me with you- or at least bring me home!"

Terra frowned in thought before nodding to himself. "Master Xehanort… I'm going to bring Roxas back to the Land of Departure- at least for now. I appreciate what you're doing… but this is a wasteland- Master Eraqus at least has rooms for Roxas to sleep in."

Xehanort seemed to be disappointed, before he gave a shrug. "Very well then Terra, see to it that the boy is safe. Vanitas may mistake him for Ventus and we can't have that, Vanitas is a strong one."

"Right, don't worry, I'll make sure Roxas is safe." Terra promised with a firm nod as he activated his armor and Keyblade Glider.

While traveling through in the Realms In-between Worlds, Terra said, "Roxas, I'm going to take you back to the Land of Departure first, okay? I think you'll be safer there for the time being."

"... Yeah… I guess…" Roxas sighed. _I suppose this way I can just travel on my own now._

"Funny… I thought you'd try to talk me out of it." Terra chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "At least you listen, unlike Ven does at times…"

Roxas then remembered that Terra gasped earlier, and he spoke up. "So… what did you find out earlier that made you gasp?"

"..." Terra sighed, shaking his head. "It was… a weird hallucination- nothing to worry about. It went too fast for me to really register it, alright Roxas? You don't need to worry about it, or me- I'm fine, let's just get you back to the Land of Departure."

"Ri- LOOK OUT!" Roxas suddenly shouted, as all these Unversed suddenly came out of nowhere, surrounding them!

Terra gasped, quickly stopping the Keyblade Glider- Roxas had asked for the name. "What the- Unversed!? Ugh… I'd better dodge them- what if I go belo- URK!" The Unversed suddenly tackled the Keyblade Glider, causing Roxas to lose his grip on Terra's shoulder, and he began falling!

The armor came off in a shine of light, and Roxas, out of instinct and panic, summoned the Corridors of Darkness around him to get him to a world before he suffocated. Unknown to him, Terra, not seeing that the Nobody was now safe, screamed out for Roxas, worried the kid was lost in the Realms.

* * *

Roxas fell for what felt like ages and ages… and he was yelling the whole way. It felt light at first, but as he entered in whatever world he was in, the gravity got a whole lot heavier and made him fall faster! "Whoooooooooaaaaaaaaaaa!" And he shouted as he felt like he just landed on something hard! "Gah!"

"R-ROXAS!?" shouted a very confused look alike after Roxas landed, HARD. "W-what the… where did you…?" He blinked in shock for a moment or two before noticing something and chuckling. "Heh… Thanks, though- I think you just helped me out!"

"Ugh… that's… gonna hurt… in the morning…" Roxas groaned from the floor, too disoriented to realize who else was here. He slowly sat up before noticing he had landed on top of a certain green-skinned witch! "GAH!" He quickly flipped over to the side, getting off of her. "M-Maleficent!?"

Maleficent, glaring in anger, teleported herself near the balcony of where they were, weakly walking up as someone held out their hand in front of Roxas. "Huh?" Blinking in surprise, he looked up to see… "V-Ven!?"

The blond smiled at him as he helped his look alike up to his feet before glaring up at Maleficent. "Terra would NEVER steal another person's heart, you lying witch!" He clenched his fist.

"Wait, what's this about Terra stealing someone's heart?" Roxas frowned in confusion, he was just with Terra and he knew the guy would never do something like that… not willingly anyway.

"This witch here claims that Terra stole this Princess's heart!" Ven said in irritation as he kept glaring at Maleficent. "... And where _were_ you? You had me worried that the Unversed- wait, how did you GET here anyway?" He paused, blinking in confusion

"There's a time and place for everything, Ven, but not here." Roxas frowned before looking at Maleficent.

Maleficent just gave a smirk, despite her weakened stature, turning to the two of them as she said confidently, "Oh, but he so easily agreed without any complaints."

Ven gritted his teeth, looking down as he murmured to himself, "He… he did…? But… but why would he…?"

Before Roxas could speak up, they heard another voice. "No! Don't listen to her! Terra would _never_ do that!" Both boys turned around to see it was Aqua. She ran up to both of them, giving a small smile. "You know that as well as I do, Ven…"

Ven gave a small smile, nodding, before Maleficent interrupted their happy moment. "Oh, how cruel the truth can be, even among the closest of friends! Because as you know… No one never truly knows the secrets of one's heart! I'm sure you'll all agree… Ventus… Aqua…_ Roxas_…"

Roxas gasped and frowned… how did SHE know his name? Did Terra tell her? But… she spoke his name a bit more strongly than the other two… Why? "... Are you mad that I landed on you from the sky?" he couldn't help but ask.

She merely laughed. "Perhaps… But you know, it isn't the _first_ time you've done that, now has it?" Roxas narrowed his eyes, growing even more suspicious of the witch.

"Not the first time? What do you mean by that? This is the first time we've actually met!" Roxas demanded- of course, he's never actually met her, just seen her in his dreams of apparently Sora's memories.

Maleficent merely laughed again. "Oh, now I didn't mean myself, you lookalike! You see… I know more than you think…"

This made Roxas uneasy now… just _what_ did she know? He looked over at Ven and Aqua, who were looking at him in confusion, though Aqua seemed to have some kind of… glint in her eyes, but Roxas couldn't distinguish what that meant. "What is it?"

Aqua frowned a bit, but she quickly shook her head. "N-nothing, nothing…" She sighed, turning to Ventus. "Ven, the Master sent me- let's go home, you've been scaring both of us a lot." She glanced at Roxas. "You too, Roxas- we need to find your home, I'm sure your family misses you a lot."

"..." Roxas frowned. "I live alone, Aqua, I'm sure I told you that before. Nobody will miss me." He noticed the glint in her eye grow just a tiny bit stronger, but before he could determine what it was, she turned back to Ven. "C'mon… Let's go, Ven."

Ven shook his head, frowning worriedly. "No, I can't go back Aqua… Please, I need to find Terra!"

Roxas looked over at his look alike, frowning a bit. "Ven, I know you're worried, but why are you trying so hard to find Terra?"

Ven gritted his teeth, shaking his head. "I-it's just.. I _have_ to find him, before it's too late! I'm sorry, you guys, but… I-I gotta go!" With that, he turned and ran off before anyone could stop him.

"W-wait Ven!" Roxas called but the boy was already gone. "... I thought he was worried about me when I went missing… but I guess he wasn't…" _Story of my life. Well… who'd ever be worried about a Nobody?_ "Well… I guess you're going to take me back to the Land of Departure now, right?" he asked Aqua.

Aqua frowned a bit, but before she could respond, Maleficent spoke up. "I see you, too, wield a Keyblade." Aqua froze up. "A source of power… a Key that opens the hearts of men, of entire worlds… and allows one to obtain both anything and everything… Such a power I find most fascinating." She smirked.

Roxas looked up at Maleficent before turning to Aqua. "Um… I'll let you handle her while I go hide, alright?" _And get my coat on while I'm at it, I could be an anonymous helper or something, but hopefully she won't attack ME while I'm helping her._

Aqua frowned suspiciously, but she nodded. "Right… Go ahead, Roxas- but be careful!"

"Thanks!" Roxas hurried away while Aqua faced the witch. The boy was looking around to find any hiding spot, but he was confronted by three fairies! "Whoa! What the?" One was red, the other was green and the last was blue.

"Why, you look just like Ven!" the first said in surprise. "How on Earth…?"

"Okay, I know I look like Ven, but I'm not. Now just go and help Aqua while I-" Roxas began to say but the blue one interrupted him.

"Hold on… Your heart is similar to Ven's." she said, studying him as she flew around the Nobody.

This stumped and surprised Roxas, and he blinked. "... There must be a mistake, I don't really have… L-look, you just go and help Aqua, okay?"

The green one now flew around. "Yes, now that you mention it, I see it too! How is it possible?" she murmured to herself. "I would have thought it unlikely!"

Roxas sighed again, facepalming. "Okay, my heart is the same as Ven, now GO, help Aqua!" _Geez, crazy fairies!_

The red fairy frowned in thought. "Hold on… You said your name was Roxas before- is that right?"

"What about it?" Roxas frowned in confusion, wondering why they seem to have such interest in a Nobody like him.

The blue fairy crossed her arms, thinking. "Hmm… The name is nothing like Ventus… but is it possible, girls?" She glanced at the two of them. "Could this boy be…?"

Roxas sighed, but was now curious as to what they think of him. Whatever they thought, it couldn't possibly be right since he came from the future and had no connection to Ven, but he is intrigued as to what they thought. "What is it? Is there something about me that you find shocking?"

The green fairy smiled, nodding. "Oh, yes, of course! Should we tell him, girls? It's in his right to know!"

"I don't know, he may not like what he hears, or may not agree to it." the blue one said with a concerned frown.

"Let's just tell him anyway, it's up to him how he'll take it." the red one said with a nod.

Roxas crossed his arms, tapping his foot, waiting for their answer. _I wish they would hurry up, Aqua could use their help against that witch! And I really need to help her too!_

The three took a deep breath before speaking together as one. "Are you Ventus's Nobody?"

It was right then and there that Roxas would've done a spit take if he had been drinking something, so instead he fell on his face with his foot twitching in the air. "WHAT!?" _I thought Nobodies didn't exist yet!_

The three fairies blinked, before the blue one spoke up. "...You don't know what a Nobody is, young Roxas?"

Roxas was just mumbling on the floor, the three blinked before the young boy looked up. "What makes you think I'm Ven's Nobody? If you know what they are then you know they have no hearts, right?"

The fairies slowly nodded, before the red one spoke up. "Well, that is… That's NORMALLY the case- but occasionally a Nobody may gain a heart that's exactly like their Somebody's!"

"Wait… what?" Roxas blinked… and blinked again. _Xemnas never told us that, he said our hearts are gone for good unless we make Kingdom Hearts!_ "W-well whatever, the point is, I'm not Ven's Nobody, okay?"

The green fairy frowned in confusion. "But you look like him, you have the same heart as him… How could you not be, with a heart of pure light like this?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I don't belong in light or darkness. Now look, will you forget about me? Just go help Aqua, she needs it!" Roxas quickly said, getting impatient.

The three fairies sighed, but they reluctantly turned and flew back to Aqua. Roxas frowned, just plain confused by what those fairies were talking about… _They must've been delusional, I don't have a heart let alone one of pure light, that's ridiculous… Whatever, I don't have time to think about it right now. I have to get to… _He paused, slowing down. _…Where do I have to go?_

When Roxas turned around to see how Aqua's doing, it seems they were done talking… and Aqua suddenly fell down a hole! Roxas gasped, "AQUA!" He ran back before glaring at Maleficent. "What did you do with her!?"

Maleficent laughed, shaking her head in amusement. "Oh, it's simple, Roxas- I'm giving her time to reconsider her choice about not working with me… It's not as if she hasn't got any other choice- but I'm giving her time to think it through!"

"Why would she work with you anyway? You tried to hurt our friend, Ven!" Roxas snapped, clenching his fist in irritation.

"Ah, but is he really _your _friend? After all, he just left you without a second thought after you just returned to him, did he not?" Maleficent smirked, clearly confident in her speaking skills.

The young Nobody frowned, but he refused to give her any satisfaction. "He was just worried for Terra is all, no big deal! And he knew Aqua would help get me back home, so there was no reason to worry about me anymore!"

"Oh?" She chuckled. "So you believe you're worthless? Or rather, no… You believe _Ventus_ finds you worthless- to not even worry about you. Poor, poor Roxas…"

Roxas gritted his teeth, he knew Maleficent is a pro at manipulating one's will and playing mind games, but it's hard to ignore what had happened between him and Ven just moments ago. "So what? I'm already considered a Nobody, what's it matter if he thinks the same way?"

Maleficent paused, her eyes widening at that fact. "You're… a _what_!?" she gasped, her eyes still wide.

Roxas frowned at her surprised look. _Wait… she didn't know I was a Nobody?_ "You know, a loser?" He hastily tried to correct himself, but internally he winced.

Maleficent frowned, looking down at Roxas thoughtfully before she suddenly waved her staff and darkness began to pool at his feet. "I believe I'll keep you as well, although just for now… We still have _much_ more to talk about…"

"Wait, whaaaaa!" Roxas yelled as he fell into the hole, the same one Aqua fell into. The last thing he heard was Maleficent's evil laugh filling the castle walls.

* * *

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Heh, did you like it? Yes, Roxas is also now traveling with Aqua- as we said before, Roxas will be going with all three, one at a time.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Right- after all, while it'd be good character development for one of them if Roxas only went with one at a time, this is ROXAS'S story, not theirs- so he's going to go his own unique route through all of theirs, just like Mickey does!**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Hence the name 'Roxas's Story'. Now try to imagine that this was an actual game, or part of Birth By Sleep. Of course you'd be controlling Roxas and only him throughout the adventure for this, so everything that will happen will only happen with Roxas- not Ven, not Terra, not Aqua, but Roxas.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Hmm… let's see, let's see… Is there anything else…? *flips through the notes, before turning pale* …Uh… Fox? We've… ran through our whole list- there's nothing else to talk about!**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Well, there IS one more thing… Some people have been asking me if Roxas will get different Keyblade/keychains from other worlds in this story. The answer is frankly, no- no he will not. The reason is because Roxas himself doesn't need those, and it's too keep it from getting too complicated- besides, Key and I wouldn't remember he changed it and may embarrass ourselves by calling like the Bond of Flames the Kingdom Key instead. So all in all, there was no real reason to give Roxas different keychains in the story, it'd just confuse everything up.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ ...You could've MENTIONED you had one on standby… *grumbles, pouting in a corner* You had me worrying for nothing! Nothing!**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Heh… there's ONE more I need to address… It's small though, don't worry. Ahem… Some have also asked me if we would have Roxas use both of his Keyblades a lot during this, hence the worrying of making Roxas too OP. Well… I'm not gonna answer that one, as it kinda ruins or spoils the future chapters if I did.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Yeah- just keep watching, and you'll see as we go along~ *winks knowingly, grinning* Now then, I don't think there's anything else… So don't forget to read and review, and as always, we will see you next Friday! Bye-bye~!**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Yes, please review, and as always, you may ask any questions you have involving the current chapters or if there's something you're worried about. See ya'll next time!**


	6. Chapter 5: Mistaken Identity

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Hey readers! Yes, I realize we broke the Friday tradition, but since I upload my Danny Phantom fanfiction, My Brother's a Ghost, on Fridays, I think it's only fair if we change this one to Mondays instead.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Yeah, makes sense to me- not to mention we'd be more ready to upload it then rather than on a school night the previous day.**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Plus it'll give you something to look forward to on Mondays since it's apparently the most hated day of the week. Now for this chapter, things are gonna get really complicated for Roxas.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Oh, don't I know it- I honestly feel bad for the guy! You'll have to see what happens, but after this, I think you'd ENJOY going about your mundane lives compared to this mess…**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ And this is why you should never mess with Time Travel. Now for the disclaimer; we do not own Kingdom Hearts, we only just do the story for fun.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Mistaken Identity**

_Did… I just fall? … Where am I? What's going to happen to me now? … Wait… this place is familiar… Is… is someone else here?_

"_..." I could hear someone's voice, but I can't seem to make out what they're saying. Please… try to speak up… who are you? Did you bring me here? I must know…_

"_... Find… Aq...ua… V...en...tus… and… T...er...ra…"_

_What? They want me to find Aqua, Ven and Terra? But I was just with them! Wait, please, tell me who you are! … No… it's fading…_

* * *

Roxas groaned as he slowly came to… Smelling a dank smell and seeing nothing but darkness and hearing water dripping from somewhere all around him, the Nobody slowly sat up, grunting slightly in pain. _Ow… that's gonna smart…_ he thought to himself, rubbing his poor back. _…Maleficent sent me somewhere- but where _is _that place? It… looks like a dungeon. Where's Aqua? … I guess I'm in a separate dungeon from her. Smart move, at least- don't keep the Keyblade Wielders together… Even if she doesn't know of _my_ Keyblades._

The future boy stood up, looking around. _But how am I going to get out of here?_ Then he heard someone approaching. He walked over near the corner and… that person in the black coat showed up on the other side, shocking Roxas. "Y-you?"

The mysterious figure held out a hand at Roxas, almost as if asking him to come and touch it, but then it pulled the hand down and summoned… a Keyblade? Roxas jumped back… The Keyblade looked familiar- the way they held it in particular- but he couldn't quite place where he saw it. "Who are you!?" The figure didn't answer him, instead it pointed at a specific spot for some reason and shot out a bright light, hitting an invisible forcefield and shattering it.

Roxas frowned in confusion, turning back to where the mysterious person in the coat was. "Uh… tha-" He cut himself off, seeing nobody was there now. "..." _Seriously, is this just the day to confuse Roxas or what!?_

Sighing in resignation, the Nobody looked up to see why the figure did that… but it turns out it was the lock, because the door suddenly opened for him. "Wow… That's… a great way to hide a lock." Roxas said to himself before taking out his own black coat. "But… I'm not going out there as Roxas…" He put on his black coat and covered his face before summoning his Keyblade. "Let's roll." _Ugh… I think Axel's rubbing off on me._

As he walked out, Unversed appeared around him- these ones much larger than the ones he had seen in the past. "Ugh, pests… Get out of my way!" Roxas hated the bigger Unversed as they took more hits to take down. He used Thunder to help take care of them. He kept going until he came across some of Maleficent guards. _… Are… those pigs? _As the guards got closer, Roxas's jaw dropped. _They ARE- what in the worlds would make a witch choose PIGS as her guards!?_

He frowned before shaking his head, getting into a battle-ready stance. "So you're coming after me? Fine then- bring it on!" It turned out that these PIGS were pretty tough. They had different weapons like clubs, spears and axes, and each one felt like a TRUCK hitting him! "OW! … Ugh… Well now I know WHY she picked them. They're such hard hitters…" Roxas grumbled to himself as he took them out and hurried to the next room, which held gates and more pig guards were there, and many of them were holding boulders and arrows!

"... You know, I'm so glad Xaldin's not among them." Roxas said to himself as he cast Reflect on himself to keep from getting crushed by the boulders and pierced by the arrows. _I swear, I need to learn some long-range attack! Maybe I can make my own Shotlock or something- it'd probably make it a heck of a lot easier to take out these goons!_

Roxas ran in a zigzag, trying to figure out a way to get up the wall before seeing the right one had a big crack in it… And it looks almost like a stair… The Nobody smirked as he jumped onto it and blocked more arrows coming his way. _Don't these guys ever run out of weapons!? _he mentally complained, rushing into the next room.

In the next room, he found even MORE pigs, and he groaned, physically sagging. "How many of you guys did she hire!?" he complained to himself, before he knocked away even more arrows that appeared. "This is so tiresome…"

"Do you need some help, dear?" Roxas jumped when he heard three familiar fairies behind him. They used their magic to shield him from another boulder.

"U-uh… thanks." Roxas said, deepening his voice, hoping they wouldn't know it was him.

The green fairy smiled at him, nodding. "It's no problem at all, dearie! But… what's a young child like you doing here?"

"A young chi- I know I'm a bit short, but that doesn't make me a child, okay?" Roxas grumbled from under the hood.

The red fairy chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. "Perhaps not, Ven, but we know you all too well- now when did you return, and where did you get that coat?"

"..." Roxas was about to ask them how could they know he's Ven, or rather THINK he's Ven since his face was hidden, but then he recalled that they sensed his non-existing heart and it was just like Ventus's, which made no sense whatsoever. "Who said I was Ven?" was all he replied.

The blue fairy blinked in confusion before her eyes widened in shock. "...R-Roxas? You can use a Ke-" Roxas quickly covered her mouth with one hand. "Mmph!?"

"I'm neither of those two boys you speak of, I'm just a loner who got caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time, okay?" Roxas hissed at them.

The three fairies frowned in confusion, before the green one spoke up. "...But you have a pure heart just like theirs- how did you get that?"

Roxas made a mental point to whack these fairies later because they're getting on his last nerves. "I don't have a heart, you might be sensing what I wished I have but don't."

The red fairy frowned in confusion at that. "...I see… so you're a Nobody, young man?"

"Yes, I'm a Nobody. But funny… I thought I was the only Nobody in existence here." Roxas said quietly as he destroyed the last pig guard.

The blue fairy frowned, slowly shaking her head. "Why no, of course not- Nobodies are rare, but they do exist… They're not very powerful, though- and they can't wield something of legend like you can!"

"Perhaps it's because I'm the Nobody of a Keyblade Wielder. Who knows, it's been too long." Roxas said with a sigh as he began walking.

The green fairy frowned in confusion herself, but she shrugged. "Well… Come on, let's go see if we can find our friends, girls- they'll probably meet up with us outside the castle!"

And with that, the three fairies turned into small glowing orbs and flew ahead of Roxas. Roxas, although glad they stopped pestering him, felt lonely that they left him alone. _It seems that I'm destined to be alone after all…_

* * *

Soon, the black cloaked Nobody made it outside of the castle. The bright light almost blinded him, but he was relieved to be out of there. "Who are you?" someone suddenly spoke up from behind him.

Roxas turned to see it was Aqua and… some man with brown hair and a big shield and sword was beside her, both of them looking warily at him. "... I'm… Nobody important." was all he said, turning away. "Just a lonely traveler…"

Aqua frowned, grabbing his shoulder. "That's still not answering my question- who are you, and why do you have the Keyblade?" Roxas tensed up there. "...What's wrong?"

"... If you want an honest answer… I don't know why I have the Keyblade. In all rights, I _shouldn't_ be able to wield one at all. Perhaps it just chose me because of… who I once was." Roxas said a bit bitterly.

Aqua blinked at that, confused. "...Who you once were? What do you mean by-" Before she could finish her question, Roxas slipped out of her grip and began running away. "H-hey! Wait!"

Roxas heard her footsteps, he knew she and that other guy beside her were following him. _I've got to lose her before she sees my face! Heh… I could always lie and say I'm Ventus if I get desperate enough._ The young Nobody then jumped and began gliding through the air, surprising Aqua and the man beside her.

"Is he… FLYING!?" the Prince beside her said in shock.

"W-what in the world!?" Aqua stopped running, her jaw wide open in shock. "I.. how is he…?" She frowned, suddenly realizing she couldn't catch up in time. "...Looks like we've lost him, Prince Philip…"

"Yeah… that guy's fast. But what did he mean by 'who he once was'?" Prince Phillip asked. Aqua only shook her head.

"I don't know…" Aqua sighed, crossing her arms and beginning to think.

Roxas landed in some shrubs, relieved he lost her. "Whew… that was close…" But just as he came out to keep going, he was surrounded by Unversed! "... Is the entire universe against me or something!?" He growled in annoyance, resummoning his Keyblade. "Seriously, you little buggers- GO AWAY!"

He began smashing away at the Unversed, but they began to push him back towards a nearby castle. "W-what the!?" He gritted his teeth. "I SAID GET OUT OF HERE!" He began using Thunderaga and Blizzaraga, trying to destroy as many Unversed as possible.

"It's YOU!" Roxas cringed, hearing Aqua's voice, looks like they caught up to him. "Why are you fighting Unversed? Are… are you on our side?" she asked, frowning in a bit of confusion.

"I'm not on anyone's side, I'm only defending myself!" Roxas snapped, getting irritated at all the assumptions. "Obviously the Unversed will attack anything that moves!"

Aqua frowned at that, slowly nodding. "I suppose… How about a small team-up, to destroy these things? Then when they're gone, we can do as we please?"

"Fine, whatever." Roxas groaned. "Just don't pull my hood."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Aqua said with a glint in her eyes, making Roxas uneasy. He didn't have time to think of it, though, as they were all pushed into the nearby castle, where, to everyone's shock, thorns surrounded the castle! "W-what in the worlds!?"

"What is all this?" Philip demanded, looking around uneasily.

Roxas looked up, before he got into a battle-ready stance, saying only one word. "... Maleficent."

The said witch was floating above them, cackling as she landed in front of them. Aqua gritted her teeth, stepping forward. "What did Master Xehanort tell you, Maleficent!?"

"Oh, he told me quite a lot about you Keyblade Wielders. It's a shame that you don't have Terra's gift of obedience, for he agreed so easily with me." Maleficent said with an evil smirk.

"Terra would NEVER do that!" Aqua snapped. "He'd NEVER help someone like you- not in a million years!"

Maleficent chuckled in amusement, shaking her head. "Quite the contrary," she stated. "He fully embraced the _darkness _within himself."

"Or maybe he was being manipulated by the darkness." Roxas responded coolly. "Was there a reason for trapping Aqua and the other boy you called Roxas in your dungeon if you knew they wouldn't submit to the darkness?"

Maleficent scowled, making Aqua blink in surprise. "Why you little…! I may not know who _you_ are… but you will pay for that insult!" She cast another spell, crying out, "See for yourself all the powers of HELL!"

The three people jumped back as Maleficent suddenly got bigger and began changing… She had transformed herself into a huge black dragon! Roxas hissed in a bit of pain, the darkness had spiked and so did her power. _Ugh… Why does it hurt? My head feels like it's swimming… No… gotta stay focused…!_ Roxas's vision was blurring, but he tried to stay focused.

Aqua frowned, glancing at Roxas in a bit of concern when she noticed him swaying a little. "Hey… you okay?"

"I'm fine! Focus on the dragon!" Roxas quickly said as he jumped, avoiding Maleficent's green fire breath and slashing at her head, but he was swiped by her claws. "Ugh…" He groaned again, clutching at his slightly torn cloak.

Aqua frowned, growing even more concerned, but Maleficent stomped on the ground and she quickly jumped away, casting a spell. "Freeze!" she shouted, a giant chunk of ice appearing mid-air.

"Here!" Philip called. Aqua quickly got behind him and he threw her at Maleficent's head, allowing her to stab her! Dragon Maleficent roared as she used her fire breath again in anger.

Roxas jumped on her back and stabbed his Keyblade into her back, causing the dragon to rise up, roaring in pain. Roxas could've held on longer, but the dizziness was really making it tough for him and he soon fell on the ground. _Come on… What's WRONG with me!? I shouldn't be feeling this weak just because of her darkness spike… I feel that all the time! What the heck changed!?_

Aqua frowned in concern, but Maleficent began flying around, and she quickly aimed at the dragon. "C'mon, c'mon…!" She focused a second or two longer, and… "GOTCHA!" She began firing bubbles that hit Maleficent over and over again, draining her health as they exploded on impact.

Roxas weakly stood up, trying to get a good grip on his head before he saw the dragon coming at him. "Oh no… you don't…!" He aimed his Keyblade at her as if trying to take aim before he fired some light energy at her, doing a small Shotlock himself, though it wasn't continuous and he wasn't all that sure how to use it yet, not to mention his dizzy head isn't making it any easier.

Thankfully, though, the dragon screamed in pain, and she quickly backed away from Roxas. Prince Phillip helped keep Roxas steady as best he could. "You want to sit out?" he asked worriedly. "We should be able to handle this beast!"

"I-I can handle it… ugh!" Roxas grabbed his head as a memory flashed, seeing Maleficent in a different castle, the static constantly changing, Maleficent turning into a huge dragon and roaring like she did beforehand. By now, Roxas's head felt like it was going to implode, much like when he regained his lost memories. "AAAAAAAAAAARGH!" _Why does this _have_ to happen NOW!?_

Aqua, hearing Roxas screaming, was suddenly reminded of the time when Ventus yelled in pain and passed out when Master Xehanort brought him in. "V-Ven!?" She frowned worriedly, turning back to see Roxas fall to the ground. "W-wha…?" _But I just heard VEN scream… didn't I?_ She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice Dragon Maleficent charging at her from behind!

Luckily, even though he was on the ground, Roxas managed to throw his Keyblade like a boomerang and hit Maleficent right in the eye! "A-Aqua! F-focus!" he cried out, still grunting in pain

"You're hurt, you should stay down." Philip said to the hooded boy in concern.

"I'll be fine… don't worry about me!" Roxas said to him, quickly waving the prince away. "Now go help her, quickly!"

Prince Philip frowned, still concerned, but he reluctantly rushed over to Aqua. "Here!" he cried out, helping Aqua get on top of Maleficent's back.

While those two were fighting, Roxas was trying to get a grip. _Okay, I get it, Sora fought with Maleficent even as a dragon, now stop invading my mind! _But despite his insistence, the pain just wouldn't stop. He groaned, seeing more and more memories flash by.

Roxas kept groaning as he felt someone picking him up. "H-huh?" He looked up weakly as the three fairies were here, helping him up as they saw Aqua was being blocked by a wall of fire and the prince was fighting Dragon Maleficent alone. "Y-you… three..?"

The blue fairy smiled, nodding. "We care about you, dear- no matter who you are, you still seem quite nice!"

The red fairy cleared her throat, holding out a wand. "All together now, girls! Sword of truth, fly swift and sure… That evil die and good endure!" They shot out blue, red and green light at Prince Philip's sword, lighting it up. The prince threw his enhanced sword at Dragon Maleficent's chest. It hit right where the heart would be on a human, and she roared as her body began shrinking and the thorns began disappearing around the castle.

"You… you did it…" Roxas said weakly, feeling on the verge of blacking out, but he was struggling to hold on to consciousness, not wanting to risk someone revealing his face.

Aqua nodded, before noticing Maleficent was walking past them. "... You know, Maleficent… It's the power of true love that _defeated_ you- but you probably don't even know the first thing _about _it. You're too… too _clouded_ by darkness to see that there's something greater." She smiled to herself, glancing back at the castle behind her. "Try all you want… But you'll never beat a heart full of light."

"Perhaps." Maleficent said as she turned to her. "But remember one thing; as long as there is light, there will _always_ be darkness." She smirked, beginning to cackle. "And in time, many more will be drawn to it. And then they will all belong to ME! Ahahahaha! AHAHAHAHA!" With that, she teleported away, leaving Aqua, Roxas, and the three fairies in her wake.

"I hope she doesn't come back anytime soon!" the blue one grumbled, crossing her arms in irritation.

"Dear, are you alright?" the green one asked Roxas, focusing on him first.

"I'm… fine… just a bit… tired is all." Roxas said weakly to them.

Aqua frowned, muttering to herself, "Terra… you'd better stay strong for me…!" Then she remembered hearing Ventus's screaming… or was that really Ven she heard? She turned to the mysterious boy in the black coat. "... Who are you anyway? Your screaming sounded like a friend of mine."

Roxas really didn't want to answer, and he hesitated before mumbling, "It doesn't really matter… Just put me down and… I'll be… on my way."

Aqua frowned, shaking her head. "Not a chance! You sounded just…." She paused. "...Just like… Ven…" She began walking closer to him. "It couldn't be… could it…?"

Roxas noticed Aqua coming closer to him, seeing her hand reaching out for his hood. "N-no, don't take off my hood!" he protested, shaking his head violently. Despite his weakness earlier, Roxas managed to struggle out of the fairy's grip on him. "I'm sorry, I gotta go!" He began running, but didn't get far before he tripped and fell. _Ugh… still too… disoriented… This is not good._

Aqua frowned, quickly running up to him. "H-hold on, I promised I wouldn't take your hood off!" _Even though I was tempted to…_ she thought to herself, before quickly adding, "You should sit down- you're still feeling weak!"

Roxas slowly got up, but the fairies got hold of him again, forcing him back down. "...Fine, if you insist…" he finally grumbled. "But you should go… I'm sure your friends need you."

Aqua frowned, shaking her head as the glint returned once more. "I'm not sure all of them are so far away…" she muttered to herself. "In fact… could _you_ take off your hood? If nothing's wrong with you, and we've never met… then what's the issue?"

"I can't… sorry." Roxas sighed. "... But… listen, Maleficent… trapped a boy named Roxas in a dungeon at her castle… Didn't you say something… about taking him home before?"

Aqua frowned, nodding. "Yes, I did… but I'm pretty sure if I went there, while you stayed here… he might not be there." By now the glint was practically visible, and Roxas gulped under his hood. "You're hiding something from me… and I think I've almost figured it out."

"I think you're making you're own assumptions. Are you trying to say I'm Roxas or that I've taken Roxas away?" the young Nobody demanded, trying to sound offended.

Aqua frowned, crossing her arms and jutting one hip out. "I don't know- _are_ you Roxas?" she suspiciously asked. "Because that scream sounded way too familiar to me…"

"Scream? Who did I sound like to you then?" Roxas asked her, trying to keep his cool.

Aqua squatted down in front of him, seemingly staring into his soul. "...Someone who probably looks just like you…" she whispered- whether it was to herself or to him, he couldn't tell.

"Hmph- think what you want, but I'm not who you think I am." Roxas said as he summoned the last of his strength to produce the Corridor of Darkness under him, shocking both Aqua and the three fairies, backing away from him. "You see? Unlike those two, I use darkness. Ta-ta." Roxas said, sounding sadistic and unlike himself as he sunk into the portal… and arriving back at the dungeon he was in. "That… was… way… too close…" he panted slightly, before clearing his throat to say something. "Now… It's time for a nap." And with that, he passed out.

* * *

Aqua stood up, still in shock… She had been so sure she was right, but after that… _There's no way ROXAS could use darkness… It's one thing to use a Keyblade and to hide your face- and there's no way Roxas is normal- but… Who could that have been? It sounded just like Ven with that scream…Oh wait, Roxas is still in that dungeon!_

While unconscious, Roxas was dreaming again. _I'm back here again… will I be able to hear the voice clearer?_

"_... xas… ple...ase… Get… to… C...a….stle… of… d...r...e...a...m...s…"_

_The… Castle of Dreams? Will I be able to hear you better if I fell asleep over there? … Please, you have to answer me! I shut my eyes, as if hoping to hear the voice better._

"_Dr…ea…ms… im…por…tant… hu...rr…y… g… o…"_

_O-okay! I'll see if I can get there! But please, at least tell me your name!_

"_... M...y… na...me… is…" Yes, uh-huh?_

_Suddenly the dream ended abruptly, and I felt someone shaking me, gently, but enough to wake me up._

"Wake… up…!"

"Ugh… who's… there?" Roxas groaned, still feeling tired.

"Come on, wake up!" It sounded familiar… female… Xi… "Wake up before I shove ice down your shirt!" Xi… o… "VEN!" Roxas's musing was interrupted by a pile of ice being shoved down the boy's coat!

Roxas gasped as he felt the sudden coldness and jumped, quickly sitting up. "Wah!?" He jumped, seeing a girl in black and with black hair in front of him. "H-huh?" He shook his head, confused, before the girl turned into a young woman with blue hair. "Aqua!?"

The woman frowned, standing up and crossing her arms in irritation. "Ven, why are you using darkness!? You know Master Eraqus said it was a bad idea to ever succumb to it! So why are you using it as a portal!?"

"Wah?" Roxas blinked, not in full grips with reality yet. "I'm not-"

"Don't deny it Ven! Why did you use it?" Aqua demanded, scowling angrily.

"But I didn't-" Roxas began to protest, before reality stopped him as he finally woke up enough to realize what was going on.

Aqua frowned even more, crossing her arms. "Ven, stop denying it- you're wearing the cloak! I don't know why you came back- but why did you have to hide it from me?"

Roxas blinked a few times before realizing he must've passed out before removing his cloak… Oops. _Gah! Another screw up!_ "A-Aqua, listen, what you see before you is only a copy."

That seemed to only anger the woman further, and she reached down and slapped him. "Don't give me that, Ven! You scared me to death with that scream of yours when we were fighting Maleficent!" she snapped.

"... Why'd you slap me for?" Roxas asked, shocked she did that. "Listen, I meant what I said, Aqua. I'm-"

Aqua interrupted him, putting a finger to his lips. "Don't say another word, Ven…" Tears began to appear in her eyes, but she wiped them away. "J-just… why did you _lie_ to me? I don't understand… You're supposed to be open with us- but you wear a cloak so we won't worry about you, is that it?"

_She's never going to let me finish, is she? The real Ven's going to get an earful if I don't correct this soon. But how? If I tell her I'm Roxas that would just put me in an even more dangerous position… _"...What about Roxas? Didn't you come here to get him?" He said this to stall for time.

The blue haired woman frowned, nodding. "Yes- and I find you instead… Roxas is probably in another cell… but you must have came here to try and find him too- I learned how worried you were when he disappeared…"

"Wait, really?" Roxas blinked. _I thought Ven didn't care about me…_ "O-oh, nevermind… I'm going now." He tried to get out of Aqua's protective grasp, but she wouldn't let him go. "Please Aqua, let me go!"

Aqua frowned, beginning to cry as she suddenly hugged him. "O-oh Ven… Ven, I'm sorry I made you go to these lengths…! W-we care about you… We really do- please, stop using the darkness!"

Roxas shook his head, frowning worriedly. "Aqua, please… I'm… I'm not… Ven." he said hesitantly and slowly, he didn't want to keep hurting her by making her think her precious Ven was using darkness and pushing her away anymore, but in doing so he's risking a lot.

Aqua said nothing, she just hugged him tighter and cried even harder. _W-where'd we go wrong? Ven was so innocent… what'd he see out here? Or… or was he doing it beforehand too? … He was screaming earlier… did… did something happen to him in that battle?_

"A-Aqua please, I'm not Ven, okay? I'm not him, he's not here… he's somewhere else." Roxas said a bit more urgently, not understanding why she wouldn't listen.

Aqua took a few shuddering breaths, ignoring him as she slowly pushed him away so she could look him in the eye. "V-Ven… did you get hurt in that battle? What happened?"

Roxas sighed, shaking his head. "If you can see into my eyes, Aqua, then you must know I'm not Ventus."

The blue haired woman frowned, growing confused by what he was still saying. _Why is he still insisting he's not Ven? He is, I KNOW he is… That scream couldn't- it couldn't have been anyone else!_

Roxas had enough, and he pushed her away from him. "If you want proof, then come to the Castle of Dreams, that's where I'm going." Then he summoned the Corridor of Darkness beside him with a flick of his hand.

Aqua's eyes widened, and she desperately tried to stop him. "W-wait, Ven!" But it was too late- he disappeared. _…A second time in a row? W-why is he pushing me away so much?_

Roxas didn't go to another world though, instead he appeared on the other side of the dungeon and took off his black coat. _I sure hope my plan works. I don't want her thinking Ven's using darkness like that, but I also don't want her to know it was ME either… I'll have to convince her it was a clone or something to put her heart and mind at ease… without exposing myself… This is gonna be hard…_

After putting away his coat, Roxas cried out, looking outside the cell as he heard footsteps. "Aqua? Is that you?" He blinked, seeing red circles around her eyes. "...Aqua? Are you alright?"

Aqua sniffed as she looked up at Roxas, shaking her head slowly. "N-no… I'm not Roxas…"

Roxas frowned as she opened the cell to let him out. "Wh-what's wrong? Did something bad happened?" He stepped out, and she instantly gave him a hug! "A-Aqua!?"

She sniffed, whispering in his ear, "J-just… please… let me do this for… for a little while… I need… I need to get this out…"

"O-okay… s-sure…" Roxas said, frowning as he felt her head on his chest, crying silently." A-Aqua… please… don't cry… I… I don't like that you're crying…" The Nobody felt terrible…_ he_ was the one who's responsible for her pain.

Aqua didn't respond for a while, still sobbing into his chest. _I… I can almost imagine… t-that this is Ven…!_

Roxas could feel a tear falling from his own eyes- if he had a real heart, it would be crushing his chest right now. _So… why does it feel like it's crushing my chest even though I don't have a heart?_ "C-come on Aqua, I know you're sad, but cheer up! Things will be better!" he tried to say, but his voice cracked a bit halfway through.

Soon enough, though, Aqua finally managed to say, "M-maybe… but… but Ven… Ven's…!"

"Shhh… It's okay Aqua… Try to calm down… Now take a deep breath and tell me what happened to Ven." Roxas said, trying to stay calm. He remembered seeing some people around Twilight Town comfort those crying, he hoped he was doing a good job since he never had to deal with this back in the Organization.

The Keyblade Master took a few deep breaths, trying to steady herself before she looked up at him. "Ven… he's using darkness… to try and hide himself from me! I-I don't know if he's done it with Terra too… but… he should _trust_ us…"

Roxas felt guilty, but he hid it well from her. "... Aqua, I've met these three fairies… and they said Ventus's heart is pure light… meaning he _can't_ possibly use darkness… Are you sure it was VEN you saw?"

Aqua sniffed, beginning to cry even harder at the news. "R-Roxas… don't you get it? …No… you weren't there... Ven… Ven screamed in pain during a fight- t-the same scream he let out a few years ago! It's hurting him…!"

"What… what scream? What was hurting him?" Roxas asked, sounding confused. And frankly, he _was_ confused- it didn't make any sense to him. _So that's it… when my head began imploding, my screaming must've reminded her too much of that incident with Ven… That's kind of creepy, that we gave the same scream… Then again, it seems we've been mirroring each other since day one._

Aqua sobbed, managing to say, "I… h-he… his heart's pure light- so- so the darkness is causing him so much pain he let out the… the same scream…!" Roxas's eyes widened. "It- it all… It all makes sense now… I-I found him passed out later… T-the… the darkness must've gotten too painful…"

"I… N-now, now, now, calm down Aqua, we don't know for sure that's what really happened! Look, did he say anything else before he suddenly disappeared on you?" Roxas asked her, hoping to try and calm her down.

Aqua paused at that, surprised. _H-how did… how did he know Ven disappeared? _"I… y-yeah- he said… he said he was going to… the Castle of Dreams next…"

"The Castle of Dreams huh? … Is that another world?" Roxas asked her, hoping she'll say yes and they can both just get there so he can prove to her that wasn't Ventus she saw.

Aqua frowned, slowly nodding. "I… Y-yes, but… Roxas, we have to take you back to the Land of Departure first!"

"I know, Aqua, but this is an emergency. Aren't you worried that Ven would fall unconscious again because of the darkness?" Roxas quickly said to her. "Please Aqua, we don't have time to go back to the Land of Departure now- not if your friend is really in danger!"

"..." Aqua frowned, now caught between two horrible situations, before she blinked. "...Roxas… you said _your_ friend- not _our_ friend." She slowly looked up at him, surprise. "Do… you feel Ven's not your friend too?"

Roxas looked away, gulping. "... We… haven't really known each other that well… and… I feel that he's more your and Terra's friend then he is mine since I'm only an outsider in this trio."

Aqua frowned a bit, before suddenly hugging Roxas again! _I won't let him be consumed by the darkness either… _"Roxas…" she murmured. "We're your friends… We care about you, no matter what- you may be an outsider… But you're a great person…"

"Maybe I am, but… I'll never truly be one of you or in your circle of friends." Roxas said, mostly to himself, sadly. "But… it's okay, I'm used to being on my own. I just… want to help you, the people who truly matters."

Aqua gasped softly, squeezing Roxas just a bit tighter. _N-no… not again…! I-I don't want to lose another friend to the darkness… _"Roxas, please, _listen to me_\- we care about you, more than you think! You matter to us, don't think you don't matter at all!"

Roxas looked at her for a second before giving her a smile. "Thanks Aqua… I'm glad to know that you really care for me. Even if nobody else does, I'm happy to know at least one person with a heart does…" he mostly said to himself, as if he was talking in a distant memory.

Aqua blinked at that, more than a little surprised. "...At least one person with a heart…?" she mumbled under her breath. _What in the world does he mean by _that_?_

Roxas shook his head as if to get back into reality, and he gave her another soft smile. "Well anyway… should we get going, Aqua? We have a friend to save after all."

"..." Aqua frowned a bit, but she slowly nodded. "I… suppose so… Come on, Roxas- let's go…" She tapped her armor, and in a burst of light, she was covered in her own armor.

Roxas then held her hand, allowing the armor to share itself on him as she turned her Keyblade into a Keyblade Glider and they flew out the window and into the Realms In-between Worlds.

"Don't worry, Aqua, I can promise you that your friend Ven is okay." Roxas said to her as they flew towards the Castle of Dreams. _After all… he's not the one you saw…_

* * *

Soon, they landed right outside a castle, walking in just as the bell struck midnight. Aqua blinked, looking around slowly in surprise. "He's… not here…" she murmured to herself.

Roxas looked around, shrugging. "Maybe we're supposed to find him." Then he saw a woman in a white gown running, as if someone's chasing her. "Hey, who's that?"

"Stop! Wait, please madam!" a fancy many with a one-eyed glasses shouted, running after her, but the woman was already out the door.

"Aqua? Roxas!?" Aqua turned, but Roxas almost jumped out of his skin when he saw Terra… Last he saw, Roxas was falling to his doom because of the Unversed. "ROXAS!" He smiled in relief, rushing down to greet them both. "Oh, you're alright- I can't believe it! How did you survive!? How did Aqua _find_ you!?" He then suddenly hugged Roxas, surprising the Nobody! "Oh, it doesn't matter- you're alive!"

Aqua gave a chuckle, shaking her head in amusement. "Careful Terra, or you'll crush the fragile boy."

When Terra let go of Roxas, he looked up at the bulky Keyblade Wielder, surprised. "You… you actually missed me?"

The brown haired man nodded, frowning a bit in confusion. "Of course- last I saw you, I was sure you were going to… T-that I'd never see you again! To see you here…" He suddenly hugged Roxas again, kneeling down. "I was _so _worried about you!"

Roxas was so surprised by Terra's reaction that he didn't know what to say… After all, when Ventus just ran out on him earlier, he assumed they didn't really care for him because he's not as close friend to them as they were each other. Maleficent's words may have had something to do with it too…. but… "W-well… I… I don't know what to say… Nobody's ever really been worried about me before…" _Unless I count Axel and… and… who else?_

Aqua spoke up, finally breaking the happy moment. "Terra… Roxas believes we're not really his friends… and… Ven's ran away from home, and he's… W-well…" She hesitated, not sure if she should tell Terra about what happened to Ven. "...Do you have any idea why he'd just run like that? Or why Roxas would feel so badly about himself?"

Terra frowned, shaking his head thoughtfully. "... Not really… Well… earlier, Ven did try to tell me something… I guess I should've heard him out first. And Roxas did seem worried about something too." He looked at the younger boy, frowning in concern.

Roxas sighed, shaking his head. "It's… nothing really important…" he muttered, glancing to the side.

Terra frowned, still confused, before he perked up, glancing at Aqua. "A-actually… I think I found Master Xehanort!" Aqua blinked in surprise. "He's looking for pure hearts filled with light! His search hasn't taken him here, but… He's trying to correct a mistake he made by accident."

"If that's true… then maybe we should all work together to keep the lights safe and the darkness at bay… See… I think the darkness may have… gotten a hold on Ven, or at least are attacking him from within." Aqua said hesitantly.

Roxas paled before speaking up quickly before Terra gets involved. "I-I'm sure Ven is okay! We're still not 100% sure that WAS Ventus we saw, Aqua!"

The blue haired woman frowned, slowly shaking her head. "You may not be sure, Roxas… but I…" She hesitated. "That scream… it was too much like his to NOT be him…"

"What do you mean? What's going on with Ven, Aqua?" Terra all but almost demanded, worried for whom he considered a little brother.

Aqua began to speak before the Nobody quickly covered her mouth. "Nothing is wrong with Ven, Terra!" Roxas spoke up. "There's just some…_ look alike _running around and using darkness!"

Terra frowned, turning away. "Could it be…?" he muttered to himself. _…Does Vanitas look… just like Ven under the mask?_

Roxas began looking relieved that Terra seems to be considering this, unlike Aqua who seems very determined that really was Ven she saw. "So you see? We can't just assume that was Ventus until we get the full story."

Terra frowned in thought, slowly nodding. "...He's right, Aqua… Master Xehanort mentioned something that might explain what you saw…" He began to walk out the door. "And I have to go find him- I'll see you later, Aqua…Roxas."

"Wait, why don't you take Roxas with you? He really should be back at the Land of Departure." Aqua said, frowning worriedly.

Terra paused, slowly shaking his head… "No… the last time I tried to bring him back, we were attacked by a swarm of Unversed. I worry he might not survive the next time it happens… I think he's in safer hands with you, Aqua- he might not fall. Besides, you may be able to connect to him more, just like you have with Ven."

"Hey! Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Roxas pouted.

Aqua winced at that, though, looking away. "..." _Did I really connect with Ven…? _she wondered to herself. _He… he just ran away from me… and if it isn't a look alike… then he also hid so much from me… And Terra, too…!_

"Oh, and… there's a girl here named Cinderella, she has a dream… Do you still have the same dream, Aqua?" Terra asked her, glancing back at her with a small smile.

"Huh? Oh, of course." Aqua said, snapping out of her little trance.

"Good. What dreams do you have, Roxas?" Terra asked the Nobody.

Roxas blinked at that, surprised. "Me? … Well… I guess my dream is… to be my own person."

Terra chuckled to himself. "Well… Cinderella showed me that if you believe hard enough, your dream can always wipe away the darkness. If you see her, give her my thanks, alright?"

"Right, thanks." Aqua nodded as Terra walked out.

Roxas turned to Aqua, "... Um… so… where are we going first?" _I must find the best spot to put on the cloak and try my plan..._

Aqua shrugged, glancing up at where the ballroom would be. "I guess… we'll look around for some clues- figure out where Ven is…" Then she gave a soft smile. _But… Terra will be alright, at least… He won't give in to it…!_

Roxas sighed but nodded, "Alright, we'll look around here for a while, but if we don't find 'Ven', we'll have to look else where." _I don't think a castle full of people is the best spot for 'Ven' to show up._

Aqua frowned, nodding. "Yeah… but I'm also looking for more clues about the Unversed…"

"Well, maybe we should split up, perhaps we'll find Ven easier that way." Roxas suggested, giving a shrug. _That way I can put on my cloak…_

Aqua frowned worriedly, shaking her head. "I… I don't think so, Roxas- someone might mistake you for Ven or something… Besides, what if you get hurt?" _Or get influenced by darkness…? _"No, stick with me."

"Hey, don't worry about me. There's a lot of people here, so I don't think the Unversed would bother with me. Look, we can cover more ground this way- you can trust me, can't you?" Roxas asked her, giving her a small pout.

Aqua felt her heart tighten in pain at how similar Roxas looked to Ventus right then, but as she thought about it, Roxas made sense. "...Well…" She sighed. "Alright, Roxas… We'll split up- but we'll meet up here in the lobby in about 2 hours, understood young man?"

"Of course! You don't have to treat me like a kid!" Roxas said, still pouting, and he really sounded like Ventus right there. In fact, Aqua almost believed this WAS Ven in Roxas's clothing, it was scary how similar the two were…

The blue-haired woman sniffled a bit, trying to keep a brave face, but she quickly gave Roxas a hug. "J-just… if anything happens, run- okay? Don't try to be a hero without a weapon…"

"... Uh… o-okay." Roxas was surprised and confused at Aqua's sudden reaction to him. "Hey, I'll be fine, I promise. I know I may not look it, but I can take care of myself. I'll see you in 2 hours!" He gave her a weak smile as he gently pried her off of him and ran off.

Aqua nodded softly, turning around and murmuring to herself, "Please… be careful…" She took a deep breath, steadying herself once more before walking into the ballroom.

Roxas ran down the stairs, almost getting pushed around by the crowd. "Excuse me, whoa, take it easy! Hey! I'm trying to come through here! Oh sorry, didn't mean to bump you!" The young Nobody was relieved to finally reach the front door of the crowded castle, it was full of panicking people. "Ugh… I never liked crowds…"

The Nobody looked up at the beautiful night sky before sitting on the stairs. _I have to find a way to convince Aqua that wasn't Ven she saw without exposing myself… but how? How can I do that?_

He frowned in thought, puzzling the issue over for about half an hour, before he finally got an idea that might work. _We don't know what Vanitas looks like… So if he's Ven's dark half… maybe I can pretend I'm Vanitas without a mask! Yeah! Okay, but uh… hmm… What if the real Vanitas comes and completely wrecks that plan? _Frowning at that new inconsistency to his plan, Roxas continued to think it over.

* * *

Finally, Roxas grinned, his plan all set. He jumped to his feet, looking around. _I'll just have to hope the real Vanitas doesn't come while I'm putting my plan into action… _"Alright, time to get g- OOF!" He bumped into someone's chest, instantly falling to the ground. "Owwww…" He groaned in pain, glancing up to see… "Xehanort!?"

The yellow-eyed old man smirked, nodding. "Of course- who else would I be?" He then held out a hand. "It seems you haven't been returned home yet… Come with me- I'll learn where your home world is, Roxas!"

Roxas scrambled away from him before standing up, looking on guard. "Why did you come here? Just to come and pick me up?" He frowned suspiciously, crossing his arms. "Frankly, that sounds crazy to me… so forgive me if I find that odd and suspicious."

Xehanort frowned a bit, looking slightly sad. "But Roxas… I'm merely attempting to correct my mistake, Vanitas- I believe he had something to do with you and Ventus meeting, let alone you teleporting away from your world! I can't help but feel that it is my duty to fix the wrongs I have made by my mistake…"

"Well I can't say that I should trust you. You seem interested in me, and that's more than just creepy." Roxas frowned, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "What are you _really_ after, Xehanort? I know you're not someone who would regret making someone like Vanitas." The young Nobody could sense the darkness spiking in Xehanort, as if tensing.

Xehanort's eyes widened in shock. "What!? Roxas, how could you say something like that!?" He frowned. "I am a Keyblade Master, meant to keep the world in balance- I am _not_ after anything other than the safety of the worlds, and of those close to me!"

"Well I'm sorry to say that I'm not close to you, so you don't need to worry about me." Roxas said, crossing his arms. "I'm sure you're here for a different reason, perhaps to find someone?" Xehanort's darkness tensed again, and the Nobody smirked. "I hit it right on the nail, didn't I?" _I've really been hanging with Axel too long._

"..." Xehanort frowned, growing irritated. "You honestly believe I don't care for you? You may not be close to me, but you look exactly like Ventus- and as you know, I care for him like a son. I may be curious as to why you look just like him, but-"

"Spare me your phony emotions, Xehanort. I can see right through your little facade. You don't care about my safety, you're more interested in knowing who I am and why I look like Ventus, don't you? You're going to use Ven for something, something big." Roxas said, glaring more and more as he spoke. _After all, that's what Xemnas did… and I'm not going to be fooled or used again!_

Xehanort's eyes widened again, before he clenched his fist in fury. "...I see- you believe you know everything, do you Roxas?" He began to smirk. "Perhaps you're not as naive as I thought you were… Unlike Eraqus's naive students, you could see right through me…" He began to advance on Roxas, his darkness beginning to fluctuate. "Well, you're quite correct… But of course, you didn't need _me_ to tell you that." He held out his hand once more. "Come with me, Roxas- I'd rather not have you covered in bruises and unconscious!"

"So you _are_ here for me! What do you want from me, huh? What did Vanitas tell you about me?" Roxas snapped, preparing himself to fight, but he hadn't summoned his Keyblade yet.

Xehanort frowned at that, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "...Vanitas? What do you mean? He didn't tell me any- …" Suddenly he seemed furious. "Why that impudent…!" He grumbled to himself, before glaring at Roxas. "So you're not going to come willingly, I see…" He then held out a hand, darkness emerging around it. "Very well then, we'll do this the hard way. But remember… this was your choice, not mine!" The darkness then compacted itself together to create a dark sphere!

Roxas gasped as he quickly cast Reflectaga to summon a barrier around himself, causing the dark ball to not only cancel out but the barrier to shoot out the same amount of power Xehanort just hit him with!

The old man smirked, easily dodging the energy now aimed for him. "I see… You know magic, do you? This is going to be quite interesting…" He held his hand to the side again, this time summoning a Keyblade.

"H-hey! That's not fair! Aqua just taught me some magic to defend myself, but why are you attacking me for? I'm just a defenseless boy!" Roxas yelled, trying to act scared, and he looked ready to bolt.

Xehanort merely chuckled darkly, summoning a dark barrier around himself. "Just as I haven't fooled you, you haven't fooled me, Roxas… You're more than meets the eye, I can tell- do not try to attempt lying with me!"

Roxas hissed as he smirked, shaking his head in amusement. "Well fine, I guess that's fair then. No need to hide my skills from you." With that, he backflipped, dodging another Dark Fire before summoning his Oathkeeper Keyblade into his hand with a flash of light.

Xehanort growled in frustration, holding his Keyblade in front of him. "So, you're a Keyblade Wielder, hmm?" He smirked darkly. "Interesting… Show me more, Roxas!" He held his Keyblade to the air, summoning a Dark Thunder to attack Roxas.

Roxas reacted with a Dodge Roll, escaping the Dark Thunder before he Air Dashed closer to Xehanort and smashing him with Oathkeeper before jumping back and shooting out a Firaga fire ball at him. "FIRE!"

Xehanort grunted a bit, but he summoned a Dark Barrier to protect himself, smirking. "So you're agile- the similarities between you and Ventus are astounding!"

"What are you talking about? I don't fight like Ven!" Roxas snapped, not liking to be compared with someone else. First Sora and now Ventus, it's getting on the Nobody's last nerves. _Granted I haven't seen Ven fight much, but at least I don't hold my Keyblade backwards!_

Xehanort laughed in amusement, and Roxas cringed at the gravely sound it made. "You're more alike than you know, Roxas… Your eyes shine with the same light as his- intriguing!" Then he held out his Keyblade. "You're impressive with magic- but now we will test your melee abilities!"

Before Roxas could argue, Xehanort was suddenly in front of him, slashing with his Keyblade! Roxas quickly blocked, but he did get hit into a wall. "Ugh…" But he quickly recovered and managed to parry against more of his incoming slashes. Roxas tried to get a hit on him, but Xehanort suddenly summoned the Dark Barrier around himself, causing Roxas's Keyblade to bounce off and to get hit by some of its dark magic. _For an old man, he sure is fast… and strong too- this is going to be hard…!_

Roxas couldn't go anywhere since Xehanort basically had him cornered at the castle's walls, so the Nobody had to try and push him away. Roxas began attacking in a frenzy, similar to how he would if he had Oblivion with him too, but he wanted to stick with one Keyblade for now. Thankfully, he managed to stab at Xehanort with some magic in his Oathkeeper to push him back, and he quickly jumped and glided above Xehanort before he could trap him again. While doing so, he used Thunderaga to keep the old man from attacking him while in midair.

Xehanort grunted, but he smirked, suddenly teleporting right in front of Roxas and slamming him to the ground with his Keyblade! "Now now, Roxas… I said we were testing your melee skills- not your magical abilities!"

Roxas grunted in pain, but he didn't answer Xehanort, instead he tried to swing Oathkeeper at him, making the man jump off him. "You want melee attacks? Well, fine." Roxas changed Oathkeeper into Oblivion right in front of Xehanort's face, the Oblivion had more attack power than Oathkeeper did since Oathkeeper uses more magic. "Take this!" He slashed again and again, and due to Xehanort's shock, he managed to get a few hits in.

The older man grunted in pain, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "You can switch Keyblades while attacking…?" he smirked again. "I see… What else do you have, Roxas?" He suddenly teleported behind Roxas again, slashing away before using a quick-freezing spell, forcing Roxas to remain in one spot. "I suppose I will learn soon enough… But you are quite powerful- who taught you, young man?"

Roxas glared through the ice, managing to crack a tiny bit of it. "Who taught me what?" he spat out. "How to use a Keyblade?!" his anger was rising as memories of his doubts and questions with the Organization began to flare up again. "You want to know all about me... asking questions even _I_ don't know the answers to…!"

Xehanort blinked in surprise, noticing the ice surrounding Roxas was cracking rather quickly. _How is he breaking it so quickly!?_ "You seem very-" His eyes widened as Roxas let out a loud yell, shattering the ice around him and standing up. _What in the worlds!? His darkness isn't increasing- but his power…!_

"You think you can just manipulate and use me, don't you!? Well I'm not going to let you!" Roxas snapped angrily as he jumped into the sky and began summoning pillars of bright light around him, creating about 13 of them.

Xehanort's eyes widened even more, and he took a step back. _How is he doing this!? This kind of power… it's… it's incredible! _He began to smirk, darkness surrounding him more and more.

Roxas fired the pillars of light at Xehanort, he seemed to be controlling their formations now instead of just firing them everywhere, he made them like bars of light and aimed at Xehanort before he suddenly made them all scramble and aim at him one at a time with amazing speed!

The old man gritted his teeth, quickly summoning a barrier all around him. To his shock though, the bars of light smashed right through his barriers one by one, until only one bar of light was left. "This power…!" He began to laugh. "Well done, Roxas… I may use _you_ instead when the time is right- we shall see!"

"NO! I will NOT be USED AGAIN!" Roxas suddenly screamed out in anger as he dived from the sky with Oblivion at Xehanort. Roxas's aggressiveness allowed him to become powerful but… it also left him wide open for punishment, and Xehanort saw it all too well, and he took advantage of it. He slammed his Keyblade right into Roxas's gut, forcing the attack to stop just before it could smash the old man's head open. "Uh… g-guh…!" the injured boy groaned, falling to the ground in pain.

Xehanort chuckled darkly, putting his boot on Roxas's head and beginning to put more and more weight on it. Roxas cried out in pain, the familiar grasp of unconsciousness beginning to take him in. "You're quite strong for your age- extraordinarily so! But… you are still no match for _me_."

Roxas growled as he tried to get up and get the old coot's foot off his head, but he was badly weakened from that attack. _That's because I still wasn't using my full powers, Xehanort, not like how I did with Vanitas… If I could just… use Curaga…_ "What… what do… you want… from me?" he asked weakly, mostly to stall for time until he can gather the energy he needed to cast Curaga on himself.

Xehanort chuckled darkly, the darkness surrounding Roxas's vision enveloping his eyesight slowly. "You shall see soon enough… But for now… you may as well _take a nap_…" Roxas gritted his teeth, still trying to gather energy for Curaga… but the energy he already had was draining away.

_No… what's happening to me? Why… why can't I… use Curaga?_ Roxas thought weakly to himself as Oblivion disappeared from his hand.

"ROXAS!" a familiar voice screamed suddenly. "Who are you!? Let my friend go, RIGHT NOW!"

Roxas managed to open his eyes to see the darkness faded and heard Xehanort whisper to his ear, "You got lucky boy, but I'll be back for you soon enough…" And suddenly… he was gone.

"Ugh… A… Aqu...a…" Roxas moaned weakly, trying to stand up, but he couldn't move without pain enveloping his entire body. "You… found… m...e…?"

The blue haired woman rushed to his side, looking him over worriedly. "Of course I did… I heard someone fighting outside- Roxas, what happened to you?" _I shouldn't have left his side for a moment!_

"... I… I guess… may….be… some...one's… af...ter… Ven… and… mis… took me… for… him… a-and… w-wa...nted t-to… t-test… him…" Roxas found his voice failing him… he just wanted to close his eyes and sleep now.

Aqua gasped, feeling Roxas grow slightly colder in her arms. "R-Roxas… Roxas, no! C-come on, stay with me!" She began to panic, frantically casting Cura on him. "Don't… don't close your eyes!"

Roxas tried to keep his eyes open, but it was getting too hard. Aqua paled when she saw the light in his eyes were dull… just like Ven's were when she and Terra first met him… The young Nobody couldn't keep his eyes open any longer and soon had to close them. _I guess… maybe when a Nobody dies… they just… disappear, right? Maybe I'll finally be in peace and reunited with Sora like everyone wanted…_

* * *

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Pretty epic battle- and see, Roxas LOST to Xehanort, so it's obvious he's not gonna be OP in this story. Yes Roxas could've used his dual wield ability, but he didn't and just because he's potentially stronger doesn't mean he'll always win. Xehanort has years of experience and proper training under his belt, Roxas is more self taught and only had a year of training, not to mention he's pretty short tempered.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Precisely- it's only the EXPERIENCE that makes our little Nobody stronger than the trainees, for as properly trained as they are… they're still trainees for a reason, and experience teaches better than anything else.**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ Now I'll bet ya'll are wondering why Aqua would be so convinced that Roxas was Ven when he was wearing that black coat. Well if you've seen Birth By Sleep's flashback, you'll see a part where Ven grabs his head and yells in pain, and to Aqua, that was pretty traumatic- so hearing Roxas scream, whose voice is exactly like Ven's, at least in the English version, she's gonna think it's him being taken over by the darkness, so she is understandably worried.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Hmm… That's it, I think- oh, right! Some of you reviewers have been telling us Roxas is NOT Ven's Nobody and just has the boy's heart. And the thing is, we KNOW that- when did we, as AUTHORS, say that's the case? All we said is Roxas has a pure heart just like Ven's- no more, no less.**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ That's the problem though, sometimes people just make their own assumptions based on what we have CHARACTERS that are NOT in the know say. Like we said in our previous AN: we KNOW what we're doing, okay? We are aware Roxas is Sora's Nobody and only has Ven's heart within him. The fairies mistook him as Ventus, or at least his Nobody, BECAUSE he has his heart!**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Alright, we've clarified ourselves… Uh, let's see, anything else… Oh! Somebody asked if Roxas will get a Shotlock. Well, we won't say yes or no to that for sure- but no matter what, we are NOT giving him new abilities, he'll have the same powers he has both in-game and as a boss. Now whether or not one of those abilities could be a Shotlock is up to you, the reviewers, to decide!**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ There's one more thing that bugged me. We've failed to say this in the last AN because we forgot about it, but someone asked why didn't Eraqus acted more suspicious of Roxas? At the very least the guy wouldn't let this go so quickly. Okay, yes, we are aware that maybe Eraqus should've been more suspicious, and yes, maybe he let Roxas off pretty easy- however, also remember that he is a fair man most of the time, and he truly believes that Roxas had meant no harm since the boy hadn't shown that he could defend himself at all.**

**_Key2DestNE:_ Right- in other words, if we had Roxas actually SHOW his Keyblade at the Land of Departure, we would have had a VEEEERY different story on our hands. If you want to try that, go right ahead- just be sure to credit us for the original idea, and know that this is OUR beliefs to what the man would do and not do. Anything else, Fox?**

**_DarkFoxKit:_ No, I think that covers everything so far. You know the drills, leave a comment on your thoughts of the story in the review box, PM us if you have any questions, and have a nice day.**


	7. Chapter 6: Questions

**DarkFoxKit: Hello everybody! Glad to see ya'll are still surviving and reading the story! I mean, some of you were just DYING to know what happened next since Roxas was apparently dying!**

**Key2DestNE: *elbows her* You didn't have to say they were DYING to know… It's not even that punny! *huffs, rolling his eyes* ...But yeah, it's time for a new chapter of Roxas's Story. What'll happen here? Heh… Weeeeell, I won't spoil anything for you all~**

**DarkFoxKit: And you may have noticed Roxas has been sticking with Aqua lately, and well, to be fair, she probably is the most protective one out of the three over him, so that makes it a little hard for Roxas to leave. But just know it's hopefully a sufficient next chapter!**

**Key2DestNE: Now then, onto reviews… Ah- apparently a lot of you have been saying that this is one of the better KH stories on the site. Well, we're glad you think that, especially since we put a lot of emotion into it! But remember, eventually the story WILL have to end, so you may as well get the pitchforks and the torches ready!**

**DarkFoxKit: Key, what'd you have to say that for?**

**Key2DestNE: *shrugs* Hey, they had to know eventually… I'm just reminding them that it WILL happen eventually, so be prepared!**

**DarkFoxKit: Yeah, but not any time soon. Well anyway, I'm glad you guys are enjoying it. We'll see ya at the bottom!**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Questions**

… _But… wait… where is this? This is… the place in my dreams, right? But… why would I come here if I'm dead?_

"_You're… not dead… Roxas…" The voice! It sounded so much clearer now! And… it was so familiar…! "Just… sleeping… Trust me… you're… alive…"_

_I tried turning around, trying to find the voice… but I couldn't find anyone. Please… tell me… who are you? Why do you keep talking to me in my dreams?_

"_I'm… a friend… I… brought you into… this timeline… to help… you, Roxas."_

_Help me? Wait, YOU brought me here? But why? I don't belong in this timeline… I'm going to mess everything up! I already got Vanitas and Xehanort's attentions, I was only lucky the old coot didn't see me summon TWO Keyblades!_

"_You… don't need… to worry… about it… Xehanort's plan… doesn't… involve you… no matter… what."_

_Well I'm glad for that, but… Do you know what's going on here or do I have to find out for myself?_

"_I know… all too well… what's happening… here…" The voice sounded… tired? "Be… careful… Things aren't… what they seem… Aqua… fell into… that trap… herself."_

_That… doesn't sound good… I frowned. Okay, but… could you at least give me your name? I want to know who you are at least._

"_You.. know me… My name… is…"_

* * *

"Roxas… Roxas!"

Roxas didn't respond at first, making the voice sounding more worried. "Are you sure it worked?"

"Yes, I'm quite sure, just give him a minute dearie, he's probably still trying to come to." an unfamiliar voice spoke.

Roxas didn't speak for another minute or two, but he began to groan, his body feeling completely sore. "Ugh…" _Again, someone wakes me up just before the voice can tell me their name! Is this going to be a regular thing?_

"Roxas!" the worried voice suddenly said with huge relief before a pair of warm hands held his shoulders and a head over his chest. "... Roxas, you're alive!"

Roxas slowly opened his eyes, feeling sore and a bit dizzy, but otherwise he was fine. "Aqua…?" He blinked as he saw her hugging him. "... Ugh… what happened?" He groaned, rubbing his forehead in pain. "Gah… headache…!"

Aqua didn't respond for a minute or two, leaving the second voice to speak up. "Aqua here was quite worried for you- apparently you got badly hurt in a fight, and she tried to heal you even as you slipped away from her! Thankfully I was able to help… How are you feeling?"

Roxas blinked a few times before memories of what happened with Xehanort came back. He was so sure he was dying back there… but it seems Aqua and this… fairy over here kept him alive and saved him. "I'm… very sore and I have a headache… but I'm fine. Thank you, both of you… I probably wouldn't be here right now if you hadn't saved me, Aqua."

Aqua blinked, her head still on his chest, before she pulled her head up to look into his eyes. "...R-Roxas…" She looked searching into his eyes… before she smacked him! "What did I tell you about not acting like a hero!?"

"Ow… Aqua! I'm still injured here!" Roxas grumbled, rubbing his cheek. "And it wasn't like I PLANNED for that to happen, I was just kinda attacked okay?" He then blinked, feeling Aqua hug him again. "Uh… what?" he awkwardly asked, frowning in confusion.

He then tensed up, feeling his jacket begin to grow damp. "I-I… I was so worried you… you were…!" Aqua sniffled, beginning to cry again. "Don't do that again! Please… J-just stay with me from now on- I don't want you to be hurt!"

Roxas sighed, this was going to make his plan to show Ven's not corrupted a whole lot harder if she won't let him leave his side. "Aqua…"

"Please… tell me… what… what happened back there?" Aqua asked him, sniffling in his jacket. "And- and don't lie!"

"I was just ambushed by someone strong." Roxas said, not wanting to tell her it was her so-called Master Xehanort that did this to him, he just had a strong feeling she shouldn't know about that right now. "It just happened so fast I couldn't get a good look at who it was."

Aqua frowned, gripping him just a bit tighter. "And… and they're still out there, whoever they were?" she shakily asked. _…That's it… I won't let him out of my sight- what if they attack him again?_

"Excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt, but… Cinderella is in trouble and we must help her before it's too late. She's been locked in her room and Jaq is trying so very hard to bring the key to her." The Fairy Godmother said with some urgency in her voice.

Roxas frowned, confused. "...Cinderella…" He glanced up at a nearby window with the light on. "That's… the woman that Terra helped… right?"

"Yes… she is." Aqua said as she helped Roxas up, having his arm slung over her shoulder. "When I came here for some help, the woman inside refused to give me any herbs or medicine for you, Roxas, but I ran into Fairy Godmother here and her magic helped kept you alive. For that, I owe her by helping Cinderella."

Roxas blushed in embarrassment at having Aqua helping him stand, and he muttered to her, "I-I'm fine Aqua, I can stand on my own… And besides, I owe her too, I'm going to help."

Aqua frowned, but she sighed. _Well.. this helps me keep an eye on him better… _"Alright, Roxas- Fairy Godmother said she'll use her magic to get us up there when we're ready. How do you feel now?"

"Still a bit sore, but I'll live." Roxas said as he took her arm off her shoulder, bending over a bit but trying to stay stable.

Fairy Godmother nodded, frowning a bit. "Yes, Cinderella's heart is full of light, but where there is light there will be darkness. Her light caused Lady Tremaine and both her daughters, Drizella and Anastasia, to have jealousy of her inner light. So please, hurry. I'll use my magic to help you get to Jaq, but that's all I can do, unfortunately."

"That's fine, just leave it to us." Roxas said with a smile. Then he noticed Aqua wince slightly. _…Why is she- …Oh… I guess I remind her of Ven too, huh…? _He frowned to himself. _It seems I'm always a copy of someone, no matter what timeline I'm in…_

"Here we go. Bibbidi, Bobbidi, Boo!" The Fairy Godmother waved her wand and the sparkling light surrounded both Aqua and Roxas as they flew into the window of the house, shrinking down to mice size.

"... Whoa, everything's so big." Roxas said in awe, looking around. "This is… pretty impressive- I'm pretty sure a simple sandwich would feed one of us for a week, at least!"

Aqua nodded slowly before noticing someone in front of them both, holding a key… It was an actual mouse! "...Um… are you okay?" she worriedly asked, beginning to walk with him.

"Gotta hurry… gotta save Cinderelle… Not much time… Must get key to door before evil stepmother shoos the big men away!" Jaq said as he tiredly carried the key.

Roxas hurried over, frowning in confusion. "Aqua, couldn't you just use your own Keyblade to unlock Cinderella's door?"

Aqua nodded, giving a small smile. "Most likely…" Then she frowned, thinking. "...But if the key isn't there… someone's going to question it, aren't they?"

"... I still say we could just use your Keyblade to open the door, but fine, let's help Jaq get there." Roxas said, and as soon as he did, Unversed appeared out of nowhere! "... How did they get this small?" he murmured to himself.

Aqua frowned, preparing to fight them. "Roxas, Jaq, you both get to the mousehole- I'll help fight these Unversed off!" Jaq gasped, seeing her Keyblade.

"That looks just like Ven-Ven!" he said excitedly. "Are you Ven's friend?" Aqua and Roxas blinked, looking at him in surprise.

"You know Ven?" Roxas asked, looking at the Unversed warily.

"Did he look okay to you, Jaq? Was he wearing a black coat?" Aqua asked the mouse, frowning worriedly.

"No-no, he was fine, in fact, Ven-Ven helped with Cinderelle's dress!" Jaq said with a smile.

The Nobody frowned, glancing around worriedly, before gasping. "We can discuss this later! The Unversed are coming right at us!" Roxas yelled, seeing they were surrounded.

Aqua frowned, holding her Keyblade up and ready to cast a spell. Roxas wanted to help any way he could without exposing himself to her, so he helped Jaq pick up the golden key and tried to help get to the mouse hole faster and away from the shrunken Unversed.

"Hurry Jaq!" Roxas yelled, helping the mouse carry it. "The Unversed are coming!"

"I'm hurrying, Ven-Ven!" Jaq said tiredly but determinedly.

"I'm Roxas, okay?" Roxas corrected him despite the situation. "ROXAS, not Ven-Ven- trust me, we look alike but we're different!"

Jaq shrugged, panting a bit. "If you say so Ven-Ven…"

"Ugh… Just keep going." Roxas groaned, not sure why the mouse didn't get it.

Aqua seemed to be having a hard time keeping all the Unversed away, and Roxas noticed as some of the fatter ones kept stomping down, causing a shockwave and hurting both him and Jaq. Roxas growled, losing his patience with them. He looked over at Aqua to see she was distracted and used this moment to use some magic of his own. "Get back!" He used Blizzaraga to freeze them. "Hurry before they thaw!"

Aqua blinked, noticing a few of the Unversed were frozen despite her not using any ice magic yet. _…How the heck…?_ She frowned in confusion but decided to use this to her advantage, smacking them as hard as she could.

"Gotta hurry!" Jaq yelled as they were close to the mouse hole but more Unversed kept showing up.

"Ugh… Do these guys ever stop?" Roxas growled in annoyance. "Aqua! A little help here!" he called for her, not wanting to risk her seeing him use magic.

The blue haired woman frowned, but she quickly used a Shotlock to destroy all the Unversed around them. "Hurry, you two- we don't have much time left!"

"We're on it!" Roxas called back as he and Jaq hurried into the mouse hole. Roxas panted, his body still hasn't fully recovered from the near death Xehanort put him in. "We… made… it…" Then he noticed the high stairs.

"Not yet, Ven-Ven, we still gotta climb stairs, take key to Cinderelle's room!" Jaq said to him.

Roxas looked at the mouse before he said, his jaw dropped, "Are… you… serious? I… won't… last that… long…"

Jaq frowned before shrugging. "We can always use mouse hole instead… You go back to Aqua, Ven-Ven- I'll bring it to Cinderelle!"

"Thank… you. And… My name is Roxas, okay? 'Ven-Ven' is a completely different person." the tired Nobody said to the mouse, who didn't seem to listen as he was already trying to climb the stairs. "Ugh… right…" Roxas slowly walked out of the mouse hole, seeing the Unversed were all gone, along with the Nobody's friend. He looked around, confused. _Where'd Aqua go? She just… disappeared! And here I thought she wouldn't leave my side after that._

Roxas mused to himself before he heard someone talking… It seems the two sisters were trying to put their big feet into the small glass shoe, but of course it couldn't fit them.

"Is there anyone else?" the man in the fancy get up asked hopefully, glancing around the house.

"No, there's nobody else here." the elder lady said with a frown, shaking her head. "My apologies that we didn't fit the quota, sir."

Roxas blinked, peering through the bars to watch before he suddenly felt tingly. "W-wah?" He blinked in surprise. "What the-" His body suddenly grew back to its original size without warning! "WAH!"

Thankfully Roxas was on ground when he re-grew, but he soon noticed Aqua, who wasn't so lucky… She was on the banister post, and when she grew back around the same time she did, she fell to the ground below! "Oww…" She groaned in pain before glancing up at the four people staring at her and Roxas above her.

"... U-uh… h-hi?" Roxas said awkwardly, giving a small wave. _C'mon, Jaq, hurry…!_

Aqua quickly spoke, standing up. "May I try that glass slipper on?"

"You?" The man in the fancy get up said with familiarity upon seeing Aqua. "I've seen you at the ballroom, so you couldn't _possibly_ be the girl…"

"Still, didn't the rules say to let all girls try it on? Well, I_ am_ a girl." Aqua said, gesturing to herself. "I deserve a chance, wouldn't you say?"

Roxas blinked before crossing his arms. _So the Prince is trying to find his missing girl with a glass slipper? … What if the glass slipper fits the completely wrong girl? That's not a very reliable way of finding someone. And what if it breaks?_

"Very well, you have a point." the fancy man said, stepping forward.

"But she and that boy don't belong here! They just barged in, they must be common thieves!" Lady Tremaine protested with a frown.

The fancy man shook his head, walking to Aqua's side. "Regardless, His Grace said _every_ maiden- and they mean no harm, by any means!"

Roxas looked over at Aqua, "Smart move." he whispered to her, giving a faint nod.

"Yeah, but… if Jaq doesn't hurry…" Aqua frowned worriedly, glancing up at the door above them.

Suddenly someone called from above, surprising everyone. "Wait, please wait!" Another woman was running down the stairs, though she wore a ragged dress instead of anything fancy. "Please… may I try it on?"

The man frowned at the lady of the house before giving the new woman a nod. "Why yes, of course- after this young lady here tries on the slippe-" Aqua shook her head, stopping him.

"Just let her try it." Aqua said, giving a small smile. "Please, I'm sure she's the one you're looking for."

Roxas nodded, agreeing with her completely. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea." _There's also a good chance Aqua's feet are the same size anyway._

Cinderella sat in a chair as the gentleman walked over to her, but Lady Tremaine ended up tripping him with her staff! It caused him to accidentally fling the glass slipper and causing it to hit the floor, crashing it into pieces. "No! No! NO! That was the Prince's only lead!" He sobbed, grabbing at the pieces of the shoo desperately. "What will I do!?"

Roxas and Aqua both glared at the old lady, they had seen her do it, but they couldn't say anything without proof.

Cinderella just gave a small smile before she pulled out the other glass slipper from her pocket. "That's okay… I have the other slipper." The man smiled with hope again as he allowed her to put it on her foot, and it was a perfect fit.

Roxas and Aqua perked up, hearing a familiar mouse cheering. They both glanced at the top of the stairs and saw him jumping up and down in happiness. Roxas chuckled at that. _That's adorable- a little mouse friend did anything to help Cinderella achieve her dreams… If only I could have real friends like that, who would do anything for me… But then… Aqua did just save my life…_

"It looks like Cinderella gets a happy ending after all." Roxas said to the blue haired girl beside him as she was being lead outside by the duke.

"The Prince will want a wedding immediately! He'll be so happy!" The duke said excitedly as he was leading her out.

"Uh…" Roxas blinked. _I may not know much about weddings but… wouldn't it be better to go on a date first before you wed someone? Ah whatever, she's happy, the Prince is happy, that's all that matters, right? _"... Aqua… Where are that lady and her two daughters?"

Aqua blinked at that, glancing around. "Hmm…" She frowned in confusion. "I'm not sure- maybe they couldn't take Cinderella's achievements out of jealousy…"

"But… what if they-" Roxas began to say when they suddenly heard Cinderella's screaming outside! "... That didn't sound very good…"

"You stay here, Roxas, I'll go check it out." Aqua said to him as she hurried outside.

Roxas frowned, crossing his arms in irritation. "And here I thought she wouldn't let me leave her sight- Wait…" a light bulb appeared on his head. "This is the perfect time for my plan to come into play!" He smiled as he took out his black coat from his pocket. _I just hope it works._

* * *

Meanwhile, Aqua rushed into the forest, looking around. "Cinderella!" she called out, frowning worriedly. "Cinderella!" Then she gasped, seeing the blonde-haired girl laying facedown in a clearing. She hurried towards her and saw a huge pumpkin smiling wickedly at her, its aura was covered in darkness. She noticed Lady Tremaine and her two daughters there, smirking and laughing. "Their jealousy turned into darkness…" Aqua said to herself, frowning worriedly.

Aqua stood up as Cinderella woke up, holding her Keyblade out defensively. "Please, hurry and get to safety!"

"R-right!" Cinderella said as she ran off to safety while Aqua got ready to fight.

Meanwhile, Roxas just got his black coat on and began walking out of the mansion. He was still going over his plans in his head, really worried about the possible outcome. _I may have to fight Aqua if things get too rough… But she'll never forgive herself if she finds out I'm Roxas…_

Then the troubled Nobody heard footsteps coming towards him- tense and worried it might be another strong enemy, he braced himself. _My body's still weak… if it breaks into a fight… I may have to run for it._ "Who's there!?" he cried out, frowning in concern. Then his eyes widened, seeing a familiar blonde running towards him. "C-Cinderella!? Are you okay!?"

Cinderella gasped for a bit of breath, shaking her head. "N-no… Whoever you are, please… Help that young woman! She's fighting some… some monster all by herself- she might die from any wounds she takes while I ran!"

"Calm down, she'll be fine. You get into the mansion, I'll see what I can-" Roxas stopped when he saw Lady Tremaine, Drizella and Anastasia at the door… Darkness was surrounding their bodies and he could feel it spiking. "... On second thought, that might not be safe either…" He glared as he pushed Cinderella behind him. "What do you three want?"

The three of them were singed, and they scowled, Lady Tremaine pointing at Cinderella. "Give me that _scullery maid_ right now, young man! If you cause trouble, we'll be forced to take care of you as well!"

"No! Not if you're going to treat her so badly!" Roxas snapped, clenching his fist angrily. "She doesn't belong with you anymore, she's now a princess! I won't let you ruin her happy ending!" He summoned his Kingdom Keyblade.

Anastasia scowled, crossing her arms in irritation. "Hmph- such a ruffian! Mother, what're we going to do?!" Lady Tremaine merely pointed at the boy. "...Are you really insisting we use… _those_?"

"You're going to use the power of darkness, made from your jealousy, to take Cinderella back by any means aren't you? Well you're going to have to get through me to do it." Roxas glared, getting into a battle ready stance.

Cinderella, who was still behind him, said nervously, "Oh please don't hurt them…"

Roxas sighed, shaking his head softly. "I'm sorry, I promise I won't destroy them, but I can't stop this fight or they'll make your life much more miserable than it was before. Do you really want to go back? To be denied for a chance of your dream?"

"W-well no, but…" She hesitated as if not knowing what to say.

"Then let me handle them. You stay in those bushes where it's safe, I'll do what I can to keep your dream alive." Roxas said to her, determination filling him. _Even if I can't make my own dream come true, I'll do what I can to help someone worthwhile with theirs!_

"Then you leave us no choice, foolish boy." Lady Tremaine glared as the darkness around her and her daughters spiked even more, surrounding the three as if fusing with them.

Roxas frowned, spinning his Keyblade around his hand absently. "Same here…" He moved first, charging at Lady Tremaine herself and slashing at her with his Keyblade.

To his shock, his Keyblade seemed to hit a barrier! Roxas frowned as he jumped back, seeing the darkness that had covered them fade enough to see what happened. Drizella and Anastasia were literally two heads in one body while Lady Tremaine was… on their back. The Nobody frowned at this. _They… Axel wasn't kidding when he said Jealousy can create such an ugly monster… I guess the darkness created from their jealousy fused them together to make this deformed creature._

Lady Tremaine seemed to be the brains in this, as she was shooting dark energy beams at him continuously, leaving him little to no room to attack without getting hit. _Ugh, it's hard to get in, and they have a barrier around them, how am I supposed to get past that?_

Roxas frowned, spinning his Keyblade nervously- he knew he had to do something though, and so he tested his magic. "Fire!" He forced some fire energy to shoot out of his Keyblade, and to his shock, it hit Lady Tremaine! _So magic can get through the barrier huh? … But I'll tire myself at this rate, there must be another way… My body is still recovering from that near death, so I shouldn't push myself… Not without Elixers or Potions…_

The young Nobody jumped and decided to try his luck with a Shotlock, he remembered doing it before against Dragon Maleficent, but his head was too busy being invaded with memories that he couldn't concentrate that well. Hoping he'll do better this time, Roxas took aim at the evil stepmother before firing some light energies, managing to shoot out dozens of them, but he had trouble keeping a proper lock on her since he was not yet used to the new Shotlocks.

Roxas got lucky, though, and most of the Shotlocks hit Lady Tremaine, forcing her to drop the barrier. Unfortunately for him, the two stepsisters perked up and charged him, beginning to slap him back and forth!

"Ow!" It seems as soon as the barrier was down, these two would attack him relentlessly! Roxas tried to whack away their hands with his Keyblade, but having to parry against four fast slapping hands proved to be too difficult for just one Keyblade. Roxas hissed as he used some of Thunder's magic to electrocute the Keyblade, so as soon as the two sisters touched it, it zapped their hands and caused them to temporarily be paralyzed.

Seeing his chance, Roxas began attacking them in a combo frenzy, using some basic light magic to cause extra damage. But it didn't take long for the three to recover, and both stepsisters pushed him back as Lady Tremaine renewed her barrier. The Nobody groaned at this, realizing it was one of THOSE rinse and repeat battles, how he hated those.

Roxas grumbled, resisting the urge to begin whaling on them like he was used to. _I can't use magic or Shotlocks forever- there has to be something… but _what_? There's not much I can do!_

"I can help you!" The boy blinked, hearing Cinderella's sudden call as she rushed over to him.

"What?" He looked over at her, frowning in confusion. "No offense or anything, but how can you help me?"

"Please… use some of my powers to free them from their darkness." Cinderella begged.

Roxas blinked before smiling- he remembered that Cinderella was one of the Princesses of Hearts, meaning she was full of light… and if he could utilize her light with his Keyblade… he should be able to break the dark barrier! "Thanks Cinderella!" He took her hand and channeled some of her light into his Keyblade before firing a bright light at the dark shield, immediately shattering it!

Lady Tremaine yelled in pain, and the two sisters instantly started slapping both Roxas and Cinderella. Roxas growled in irritation, but he swung the Keyblade, which was still full of light energy. "Take that!" The light energy seemed to be burning the two sisters when their hands touched it.

"Cinderella! Take cover!" Roxas quickly yelled to the young maiden, who nodded and hurried back to the bushes. "Here goes…" He jumped and began slashing away at them once more.

Lady Tremaine, deciding not to use the barrier this time, went an all out offense with her magic. She began firing beams of darkness at Roxas, who was hit as he wasn't expecting it! "Ugh…" Roxas fell to the floor in pain, his body was still injured from his previous fight.

"Please… get up!" he heard Cinderella call to him. Roxas gritted his teeth, slowly standing up and using his Keyblade as a crutch.

"HEAL!" Roxas held up his Keyblade and used it to help him used Cura on himself- he didn't have enough energy for Curaga, but Cura was enough to help him get back on his feet. Of course he didn't have time to rest, for as soon as he was back on his feet, Lady Tremaine let out a screech of anger, sending out more dark beams at him! Roxas quickly used Dodge Roll, trying to stay out of the way and hope she would tire out soon so he could get in to attack.

Unfortunately for the Nobody, it wouldn't be that simple, because even though Lady Tremaine did tire out eventually, the two sisters began moving around quickly, making it hard to hit them, and whenever he got close, they would push him away.

Roxas growled in irritation, before Cinderella rushed out and held out her hand. "Roxas, here!" she cried out, waving one hand towards him.

"Thanks!" Roxas took her hand and utilized her light once more, he fire a bright beam of light at them, causing the sisters to yell in pain and stunned them. Roxas, seeing his chance, quickly charged at them and noticed Lady Tremaine's chest was starting to glow a little bit, that's when he realized what he had to do to free them from the darkness their jealousy created. The Nobody focused on his Keyblade until it began to glow brightly and he jumped at Lady Tremaine and stabbed her with his glowing Keyblade!

Roxas gritted his teeth, closing his eyes as a bright light emerged from the newly opened wound in Lady Tremaine's chest. However, it soon faded to reveal all 3 women were laying on the ground, unconscious. Thankfully they didn't appear to be hurt and they were no longer fused together.

* * *

Roxas panted, immediately dismissing his Keyblade and fell to the ground in exhaustion. Cinderella was checking on the three before seeing him on the ground, and she quickly rushed over to him. "A-are you okay?"

"Just… tired… Listen… they'll be… fine. Just let them… rest for a while." Roxas said to her gently, trying to catch his breath. "Hurry… get them inside… and… wait for… Aqua to come back… okay?"

"What about you? You're hurt…" Cinderella said, still concerned for him.

"Don't… worry about me. I'm used… to this." Roxas assured her as he sat up. "Now hurry."

"A-alright." Cinderella frowned a bit, but she hesitantly nodded as she headed back to the three.

Roxas, still wanting to go through with his plan to convince Aqua Ventus was not corrupted, he weakly forced himself to stand up. He summoned his Kingdom Key again and, using both hands, lifted it over his head to cast Cure on himself.

"V-Ven!?" Unfortunately it seems Aqua decided to come right when he was trying to heal himself.

Roxas groaned to himself, but he slowly turned back to her. "...Heh- not quite…" He smirked under his cloak, trying to act like Vanitas. "Tell me… have you heard anything about two boys, split in half- one light, one dark?"

"What? Could such a thing happen?" Aqua frowned, blinking in confusion.

"It_ is_ possible to do it though… You've heard about a name called Vanitas before, right?" Roxas asked her, trying to sound intimidating.

Aqua blinked a bit, confused. "...No, not really…" She frowned, shaking her head. "W-what's this about, Ven? Just… why are you trying to lie so much to me?"

"I'm not lying to you, moron." Aqua winced at the name calling, and Roxas chuckled darkly. "Can't you tell the difference between your precious Ventus and someone else?" Roxas snapped at her. "Ventus is of pure light, while I'm pure darkness, hence the Corridor of Darkness I used."

"..." Aqua's eyes widened, finally getting it. "Wait… you're not…?" she weakly asked. "Y-you're…" She gasped, a hand flying to her mouth.

"That's right… I'm Ventus's darkness, Vanitas, created by that fool Xehanort himself. You were foolish to be tricked by the oldest trick in the book. It's only too bad, I'm sure Ventus would be thrilled to hear you mistook him for someone else." Roxas said, sneering under his cloak. "Well, whatever- my work here is done anyway." With that, he turned and walked away, too tired to summon the Corridor of Darkness. _I sure hope that worked…_

As soon as Roxas was out of sight, he quickly took off his cloak and winced at all the injuries he had on him. _Geez… I got hit a lot, didn't I? Ugh… Aqua's gonna kill me if she sees me like this! I have to get a Potion or something… _He frowned, looking around for a Moogle shop.

"Where's Roxas?" said boy heard Aqua called. "Roxas! ROXAS! WHERE ARE YOU!?"

"Ugh… Why does this always happen to me?" Roxas groaned, rubbing the temples of his head. Before he could move, Aqua already found him. _What, does she have some kind of radar on me!?_

Aqua gasped a second time, her eyes wide in fear. "R-Roxas!" She quickly rushed over to him, looking the poor boy over. "W-what happened to you!? I asked you to stay here- how'd you get hurt so badly?! O-oh dear… Um…" She began frantically going through a bag she had, pulling out a Hi-Potion. "Drink this!"

Before Roxas could protest, Aqua already had the Hi-Potion in his mouth. The boy grimaced at the bitter taste. As soon as she took the Hi-Potion out of his mouth, he said, looking at her curiously, "I'm sorry Aqua, but Lady Tremaine, Drizella and Anastasia attacked me and Cinderella. I think they kinda went insane on us, any idea why?"

Aqua winced, feeling awful. "I… I think so- the jealousy in their hearts became complete darkness… Roxas, we need to find some kind of weapon for you- at least to defend yourself!" She began fussing over him once more. "And some armor, maybe… Hmm…"

Roxas just sat down on the ground- despite the Hi-Potion, he was still exhausted and hurt. "Let's just… take a small break before we leave this world, okay?"

Before Aqua could answer, Cinderella came running towards them. "Oh good, you're both safe. I was so worried… After you went to fight that evil pumpkin…" Then she looked at Roxas. "And you protected me and freed my stepmother and stepsisters from their darkness…"

It was then Aqua blinked and looked at Roxas in confusion, who gave a nervous chuckle, shaking his head. "O-oh, must not have been me… I blacked out for the most it." he quickly said. _Dang it, Cinderella!_

The blonde maiden blinked in confusion, slowly shaking her head. "But it was you… You looked just like this- just with a black cloak instead… so why…?"

"Wait… _Vanitas_ protected you and saved them from their own darkness?" Aqua said in confusion, crossing her arms in thought.

"I-I didn't get his name, but… I was sure it was_ him_." Cinderella said with a confused frown, looking at Roxas. "See? He looks tired and injured from that fight."

"I'm sorry, but I wasn't in that fight. They knocked me out before you got there." Roxas said lightly. He shrugged, despite the glint in Aqua's eyes reappearing. "Sorry… guess you didn't see me- I woke up around here…"

"Oh… then I apologize for the confusion." Cinderella said, bowing. "If you see that boy in the black coat, please thank him for me. And I thank you too, Aqua."

Aqua frowned in thought, slowly nodding. "Yeah… you're welcome…" She was still staring at Roxas, thinking to herself. "...Come on, Cinderella- let's bring you to the castle…"

"Oh, no, it's okay. The duke is going to take me there himself." Cinderella said with a smile as she gestured to a very fancy looking carriage. "I just came here to thank you for saving me and my step family."

Roxas sighed as he stood up, stretching a bit. "That's great… because we have to get going too, right Aqua?"

Aqua frowned, and she slowly shook her head. "Well… why don't we watch the two of them reunite first?" She smiled a bit. _It's going to be sweet to see…_

"Sure, I guess, if you want to stick around for the wedding." The Nobody shrugged, to him it just meant more time to rest and think of an excuse for any questions Aqua may have.

But when Roxas looked over at the carriage, he saw the Prince was already in there as if he was waiting for her. The Prince ran over to Cinderella, picked her up and twirled her in happiness. The Nobody couldn't help but smile in satisfaction, knowing he had helped the Princess of Hearts to fulfill her own dream. "... Well… I think we're done here, Aqua."

Aqua glanced over at them, giving a small smile herself. "...Yeah… I suppose so…" Then she glanced at the Nobody beside her. "Roxas… If you were hiding something… would you tell me?"

"Hmm? Why would you ask me that, Aqua?" Roxas asked her, getting a little uneasy at the sudden question. _W-what, did she figure it out?_

Aqua just frowned a bit worriedly, looking at him seriously. "Please… Just give me a yes or no… I-I'd rather have you be honest about it now rather than later…"

Roxas frowned… He didn't want to tell her 'no', but he didn't want to lie and say 'yes' either, how was he supposed to answer her? "Is this about Ven again? You don't know much about me, Aqua, it's not really easy to have to tell you _everything _about myself."

Aqua looked away, sniffling slightly. "I-I guess.. Sorry, Roxas- I just…" She trailed off, still not looking at him.

"Hey, it's okay Aqua, I know you're just worried for me. Come on, let's get out of this world, I'm sure our friends are waiting for us." Roxas said with an assuring smile towards the blue haired Keyblade Master. "And… I have a thing or two to say to my look alike, Ventus."

Aqua blinked, looking at him with slightly teary eyes. "...What do you mean?" She frowned worriedly. "A-are you going to attack him or something?"

"No, no, of course not Aqua! I just meant I wanted to ask him why he just ran off like that when we last saw him." Roxas quickly said before frowning. "... You'd… really think I would attack him?"

Aqua winced, quickly correcting her statement. "N-no, no, of course not! It's just…" She hesitated. "...I thought you would be angry with him for doing that… and that you'd…" She sighed, trailing off.

"But Aqua, I can't even fight. You saw what happened to me before… I only wanted to talk to him. Besides, if I attacked him, Ven would just shove that Keyblade in my face, not very comfortable if you ask me." Roxas sighed, shaking his head.

Aqua sighed, glancing down. "I-I know…" she started to say. "But I…" She stopped herself there, shaking her head. "Let's… just get back on track, alright Roxas?"

Roxas nodded as Aqua pushed her armor, and in a flash of light, it came on. She summoned her Keyblade Glider and held onto Roxas so some of her armor could get on him as they fly into the Realms Between. Roxas just watched nonchalantly as they were flying through… But he was not at all expecting it when an Unversed suddenly tackled the Glider!

"WAH!" The armored Nobody yelped as the Glider flipped, causing him to fall like with what happened with Terra. "NOT AGAAAAAIN!" he cried out, the armor flying off him as he quickly summoned a Corridor of Darkness to escape, but not before hearing Aqua screaming his name.

"NO! ROXAS!" she desperately cried out, resisting the urge to jump off her Keyblade Glider and go after him. "_ROXAS_!"

Roxas was falling, just like last time, and wasn't sure what world he's going to end up in. He felt light… then he became heavier and heavier until… he landed on something hard! "Ugh… ow…" _I have GOT to learn to land on my feet!_

* * *

Rolling around, the Nobody discovered he landed on the rough ground… And looking up, he could see he was in some kind of badlands, not much is out here. _Where am I? This place looks more empty than The World That Never Was. _Then he frowned, slowly standing up. _Wait… isn't this… where Terra and I found Xehanort?_

Roxas stood up, looking around thoughtfully. _I wonder if… Xehanort's still here… If he is, I'd better hightail it out of here before he finds me again._ He was about to summon a Corridor of Darkness before his sensitive ears caught the sound of metal clashing… Two people were fighting? Out HERE?

Frowning and curious, the Nobody ran to where he heard the fighting, but he stopped and hid behind a rock when he saw them moving around. It wasn't until he stuck his head out to see… Vanitas and Ventus battling it out. Roxas's eyes widened in shock… Ven didn't stand a chance against Vanitas! This proved true as Vanitas easily knocked Ven back and to the ground.

"Hmph- pathetic." The masked boy scoffed, kicking Ven in the stomach. "Get up- you're not done yet, are you? If you are, you're still too soft to ever save your precious friend Terra!" Ven could only groan in pain. "So weak… If only you were more like Roxas, then this would be so much more fun. Oh well, too bad- I'd be going against the Master's orders, but you're too weak to be a part of this anymore."

Roxas gasped as he saw Vanitas was about to finish off Ven for good, and he was about to go into there and stop him, but suddenly, a black blur ran past him and grabbed Ven, barely getting him out of Vanitas's dark lightning's way! "Huh? Was that…?" He blinked, looking over in confusion.

"Don't worry, you're safe!" It was… a mouse? Roxas frowned, that squeaky voice sounded very familiar… Before he could think about it, though, the mouse summoned a Keyblade himself! "Heal!" He cast Curaga on Ven, healing the injured look alike.

Ven groaned a bit, looking up at the mouse in confusion. "W… wha?" He frowned, slowly standing up. "Who… who are you?"

"I'm Mickey." the mouse claimed, smiling at him before glaring at the masked boy. "You there! Keyblades are not meant for bullying others!"

Roxas blinked… Where have he heard that name before? He can't seem to remember, even though he and Terra saw this mouse before when they were at Yen Sid's castle. _Hmm… Should I join in the fight too? But… if I do, Ven will see me use a Keyblade, and if I go in with the coat, they may see me as a suspicious entity and it would be the same thing with Aqua all over again!_

Vanitas growled in frustration before he noticed a bit of color sticking out in a nearby rock and he began smirking under his mask. "Heh… Oh really, pipsqueak? And what makes you think you can stop _me_?"

"We're going to try! You're not going to bad mouth Terra ever again! And how do you know about Roxas!?" Ven snapped at him.

"Oh? You mean you don't know? Didn't you know that Roxas kid can actually put up a decent fight, unlike you?" Vanitas sneered, crossing his arms cockily.

Ven paused at that, blinking in confusion. "W-what're you talking about? Roxas doesn't even have a Keyblade!" He quickly shook his head, preparing to attack. "And he didn't last very long in our spar!"

Vanitas laughed at that, waving a finger in the air. "Tsk tsk, silly Ventus- do you really think a _smart_ opponent would go all out on a wimp like you? He probably just faked it to make you feel better!"

"What?" Ven frowned, looking down. "I… he wouldn't…" he paused, beginning to think.

"Enough! We're not here to talk about someone else!" Mickey snapped.

"If you were half as decent as Roxas, I wouldn't need to be laughing at how easy this is!" Vanitas laughed.

Roxas glared as he grabbed his coat, he had had it with Vanitas, if he keeps blurting out his secret like this, it's only a matter of time until Ventus starts believing him! Putting his hood on to hide his face, Roxas summoned Oathkeeper into his hand and jumped out from behind the rock, immediately firing a Firaga fireball at him!

The masked boy chuckled, easily dodging the giant fireball as if it was a tiny golf ball. "And here's the boy of the hour himself! As you can tell, he knows more magic than _you_, little Ventus…"

"I'm not Roxas." Roxas said, sounding so calm it was eerie. "I'm someone from the dark." he said darkly as he slowly walked towards them. _Because if I say I'm Nobody, obviously they'll connect it back to me… I shouldn't use that line from now on, really! _"And you're going to _pay_…"

Vanitas merely scoffed, pulling out his Keyblade. "Oh really? You'd better bring some power then, 'someone from the dark.' TAKE THAT, LOSER!" He let loose a Dark Thunder, and Roxas twitched slightly.

The hooded boy quickly jumped out of the way as Ven and Mickey ran over to him. Roxas sighed, wishing they had just left him alone and just attacked Vanitas. "We have a strong enemy, why did you come over to me?"

Ven frowned, looking at the hooded Nobody suspiciously. "...Who _are_ you? I… can't help but feel like you're not as dark as you say you are!"

"Can you sense darkness through someone's heart then?" Roxas asked him, frowning a bit. _If he can… this isn't going to be easy._

Ven hesitated, though, slowly shaking his head. "W-well… no, but- WAH!" He yelped, barely dodging a swipe from Vanitas's Void Gear.

"Then shut up and fight!" Roxas yelled angrily at his look alike before casting Aeroaga around Ven, himself and Mickey.

Roxas made to dive at Vanitas- remembering how strong this guy was, he couldn't afford to pull any punches, just that he couldn't summon Oblivion or he'd risk being exposed. He managead to combo Vanitas with two hits, but then he seemed to suddenly disappear before reappearing above Roxas and slashed at his head! "Too slow!"

"Gah!" Roxas hissed but quickly recovered- thanks to Areoaga, the damage didn't hurt as much as it would've. "Deep freeze!" he shot out Blizzaraga at Vanitas, hoping to freeze his feet and slow him down.

The masked boy merely disappeared again, though, and when he reappeared behind Ventus's head, he suddenly grabbed the blond by the neck! "Heh… you're just as good as I remember, if not better. But frankly, you have the odds stacked in your favor… How about we change them, hmm?"

"Wah!? Let him go!" Roxas demanded. _W-what the heck is he doing with Ven!?_ he nervously thought to himself._ This doesn't seem good… If Ven's Vanitas's light side…! No… don't tell me he could manipulate Ven's body- he couldn't, could he?_

Mickey came charging up and whacked at Vanitas, who easily dodged him. "Stop, what are you going to do with him!?" His ears twitched nervously as Vanitas laughed darkly.

"You don't get it, do you?" Ven's eyes began to dull over as Vanitas explained. "I'm going to change one of the players in our little match… You want to help Ventus, Mickey Mouse? Well then, attack Roxas!"

"What!?" Mickey frowned, looking at the hooded Nobody. "W-what do you mean by that!?"

"I told you, I'm not Roxas! And that's just cowardly, Vanitas, using Ven as a meat shield and have one of us turn against the other." Roxas hissed angrily.

Vanitas merely laughed darkly. "Heh- if you don't care about Ventus, then it shouldn't bother you. But it does, doesn't it… _Roxas_?"

"Why do you keep calling me that!?" the Nobody yelled, growing more and more irritated with the masked boy.

"Let… let me go!" Ven snapped, struggling to escape from from Vanitas's grip.

"Quiet, idiot, you're going to be useful to me after all." Vanitas smirked from under the mask. "You may not have realized it, but… this is going to be a wonderful partnership…"

Roxas and Mickey glared, both wanting to save Ven. They began charging at Vanitas together, before he swung Ventus around to both of them and they paused. Roxas gritted his teeth, glancing at Mickey. "...Do you want to attack from the back?"

"Don't have to tell me twice." Mickey said as he backflipped behind Vanitas… who disappeared as soon as Mickey swung his Keyblade.

Roxas hissed before jumping and gliding through the air, seeing Vanitas before firing a Thunder attack at his hand, trying to get him to release Ven. Thankfully though, it managed to hit his arm and he released Ventus with a grunt of pain.

Thinking fast, Roxas dived and parried Vanitas's Keyblade, keeping him from getting to Ven again. "No! I won't allow you to take him again." he hissed, his face inches away from the masked boy's.

"Oh? And what are you going to do about it?" Vanitas sneered, pushing as hard as he could against the Nobody.

"Fight you!" Roxas snapped as he pushed Vanitas back, who jumped and began firing Dark Thunder around him! "Ven! Get up! Hurry!" Roxas shouted as he began Dodge Rolling, trying to get out of the way.

The look alike groaned but quickly Dodge Rolled himself just before he could hit him too. Mickey was relieved to see the two were able to dodge as Vanitas landed, but… Vanitas quickly went underground!

"What the!?" Roxas frowned, seeing the dark glow on the ground that was Vanitas was coming right at Ven! "Ven! Look out!"

"W-wha?!" Ven blinked in confusion, before Vanitas suddenly erupted from the ground and grabbed the blond boy again. "GAH!"

"You might as well just have Ven fight with us if you keep doing that!" Roxas snapped, losing his patience.

Vanitas merely laughed darkly. "Heh… I'm almost done…" Suddenly, he just let Ventus go. "Here you go- a new playmate, Roxas. Go ahead… Attack him."

"What? What did you-" Roxas's eyes widened when he felt parts of Vanitas's darkness in Ven, not in his heart but in his head. When Ventus looked up, his eyes were dull, like they were in a trance. "V-Ven?"

"What's he done to you?" Mickey yelled, looking the look alike over worriedly, but to no response.

"Let's see if you have what it takes to take on both me and Ven!" Vanitas laughed as he disappeared and was suddenly in front of Roxas, who was caught off guard and was hit back into a rock with his Keyblade!

"Gah!" Roxas yelled as he fell to the ground, injured. _I'm… still weak from fighting those witches, how am I supposed to compete like this?!_

"Are you okay?" He heard Mickey call for him before he looked up to see Mickey trying to attack Vanitas, only for Ven to get in his way, stopping the mouse from attacking.

Roxas weakly stood up, panting tiredly. _Ugh… Vanitas is already tough as it is… Now that he's got Ven on his side, this is even worse since we don't want to hurt him!_

Roxas ran with his Oathkeeper in hand, ready to strike. Vanitas shot off Dark Thunder at him, and Roxas blocked before jumping, slashing at Vanitas. Unfortunately for him, Ven quickly jumped too and hit Roxas from behind! Roxas groaned, but he turned around and managed to push Ven off him- however, this distracted him from Vanitas.

The masked boy instantly took the chance and he slashed at Roxas, forcing the Nobody up into the air. "Too easy!" he taunted, jumping up into the air and slashing at Roxas again and again before forcing him to the ground.

The Nobody couldn't do much since he was still badly injured and tired from his previous fight, not getting a lot of rest. Usually in the Organization, he could rest after his missions were complete, but here it's been one thing after another.

"Come on, you were so much stronger last time, I'm disappointed." Vanitas said in what sounded like annoyance.

Mickey suddenly came out of nowhere and slashed at Vanitas. "Heal!" He quickly casted Curaga on Roxas, healing the tired boy enough for him to get on his feet.

"Thanks." Roxas said to the mouse with a small nod, grateful to have a good ally on his side. "I needed that…"

"I don't know who you are, but… we need to free Ven before we can face Vanitas." Mickey said to him, clenching his fist determinedly.

Roxas nodded in agreement, "I know, but how?" Then he blinked, seeing Mickey hold out a hand to him. "...Uh, what're you doing?" he awkwardly asked.

Mickey shrugged, smiling. "Let's work together- you keep Vanitas distracted, and I'll see if the Keyblade can do any good!"

"Right, let's do this!" Roxas took Mickey's hand and the two of them began circling each other, firing off light energy as Shotlocks at both Vanitas and Ven, separating the two apart. When both were a decent length from each other, Roxas shot at Vanitas using his new Shotlock while Mickey went for Ven.

Vanitas laughed, easily dodging Roxas's Shotlock although he winced at the light. "What, you think that could stop me? You really have grown weak, Roxas- I should have expected more from you!"

"For the last time, I'm NOT ROXAS!" the Nobody yelled as he slashed down on Vanitas, his anger making his attack more powerful. "What do you want with Ventus anyway? You're his dark side, so what would happen if you killed your original self?"

Vanitas scoffed, easily pushing Roxas back. "What makes you care, Roxas? Or are YOU related to his wellbeing as well?" He laughed sarcastically. "Imagine- the two of us coming from _that_ weakling!"

"What? You think _I_ come from Ventus!?" Roxas snapped, slashing at him, but the two Keyblades CLASHED, both trying to push back against each other. The two Keyblade Wielders were now face to face with each other, both their Keyblades being pushed against the other. "That's nothing but a joke, Vanitas!"

The masked boy smirked, stomping on Roxas's foot, who yelped and groaned in pain. "Oh really? Then why care so much about him? Hmm? Don't lie to me! It's not mere coincidence that you look and sound exactly like him, Roxas."

"What makes you think I'm Roxas? And I'm not connected to Ventus in any way!" Roxas snapped. "I don't know why I look and sound just like him, but I know where I come from and it's not with Ventus!"

Vanitas laughed, pushing Roxas away while the boy nursed his foot a tiny bit. "Oh really? You just admitted it, Roxas- thank you for no longer shouting out your lies about your identity!"

"I didn't- ugh! Will you just shut up!? I'm not Roxas and I'm not connected with Ven!" Roxas snapped, losing his patience as he held up Oathkeeper. "THUNDER!" A powerful lightning strike hit at Vanitas, and he grunted in pain. "Just stop talking about connections that aren't real!"

Vanitas chuckled darkly, slowly standing up. "Fine… if you aren't Roxas… then I guess there's no reason for me to not destroy you." He suddenly disappeared, and Roxas looked around right before the masked boy slammed his Keyblade down on the Nobody from overhead!

"Ugh!" Roxas yelled as he was thrown into another rock. "... I'm surprised… I'm not dead yet…" He used his Keyblade as his crutch as he slowly stood up. Glancing up to his opponent, he saw Vanitas teleporting right in front of him, but he didn't hesitate to lift himself with his Keyblade still on the ground, avoiding Vanitas's attack before kicking the masked boy in the face, knocking him back. "HEAL!" Roxas quickly cast Cura on himself.

Before Roxas could charge at Vanitas again, though, he was suddenly tackled by Ven! "Ugh… Ven!" It seems Mickey hadn't been able to free him yet. "Ven, please! Stop this!"

The blond-haired boy ignored his look-alike, grabbing his hood and began pulling at it. Roxas gasped as he kicked Ven's gut to get him off. "STOP!" Ven groaned he was kicked off, but Ven had seen Roxas's face before the boy kicked him, it was enough to bring him to his senses.

"R-Roxas?" But then his head began hurting, because Vanitas was still trying to control him. "Ugh!"

"V-Ven…" Roxas slowly stood up and he felt his Keyblade glowing in his hand. Blinking, Roxas decided to let Oathkeeper guide him as he held it up at Ven, who was grabbing his head, and as soon as he did, a beam of light shot into Ven's head! Roxas's eyes widened in shock. "W-what the heck!?" He squinted to see, blinded by his own Keyblade's light.

When the light finally faded, Roxas could see Ventus slowly stood up, panting a bit. "..." He looked at Roxas, his eyes still wide, but thankfully not dull. "R-Roxas… you…?"

Roxas shook his head, thankfully the hood was still up. "No, I'm afraid you're mistaken."

"Fellas! I could use some help over here!" Mickey yelled as he was trying to block Vanitas's fast and merciless strikes.

Roxas and Ventus both gasped, before they nodded at each other. "You go left, I go right?" the boy with a heart asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure, why not." The hooded boy nodded, standing up and brushing himself off slightly.

The two 'twins' ran at opposite directions and they came at both sides at Vanitas. They managed to hit him, but Vanitas left an illusion clone of himself before suddenly appearing above and slashed down at them. "Too slow!"

Roxas and Ven jumped back as Vanitas began shooting dark balls everywhere! Mickey jumped away as Roxas quickly began Dodge Rolling, trying to get out of the way. Ven was following Roxas's example as he began Dodge Rolling too. When Vanitas finally stopped, Roxas didn't hesitate to go in and strike! Ven, seeing the opportunity himself, joined the hooded Nobody in comboing the masked boy. Mickey jumped in and striked as well.

Vanitas was a little overwhelmed, but he quickly managed to teleport behind them and fire hit dark Shotlocks at them. Roxas quickly blocked, since trying to dodge a homing attack would be next to impossible, but he wasn't fast enough to block all of them and he got hit a few times, causing him to hiss in pain. _I'm still weak from all those hits…! I need to find some way to rest, and fast…_ he thought to himself, groaning a bit.

Ven frowned in concern, glancing at Roxas. _I hope Roxas can withstand those attacks…!_ he thought to himself, but he also blocked each of the dark Shotlocks with relative ease, getting hit once or twice himself.

Mickey was using Reflect, so he was able to avoid injury at the cost of some of his magic. The three Keyblade Wielders were still coming at Vanitas though, but Roxas was tired, he was staggering a bit. The masked boy took noticed of the weakened Nobody, and he laughed a bit.

"Ha- you all come at me with everything you have, and it still isn't enough! What's wrong, Roxas- haven't told everybody your little secret? I guess you can't recover enough of your energy to be any stronger than your weak copy!"

Roxas glared from under his hood, growling in irritation. "Shut up! Stop talking like you know me! I'm not Roxas! I don't know a Roxas!" He felt his anger rising once more, just like it did against Xehanort. "I'm ME! Not Ventus, not Roxas, NOT ANYBODY BUT MYSELF!"

"Well if you're not Roxas, then who are you?" Vanitas asked him, crossing his arms cockily.

Roxas stopped at that, his anger draining as he realized what he just said… or rather yelled. _Wait no… I AM Roxas, I just… ugh…_ "Enough of your mind games!" The Nobody frowned when he noticed Ven and Mickey were looking curiously at him. "Don't take your eyes off the enemy." he scolded, still angry at Vanitas's mocking.

Ven frowned a bit, but he nodded, glancing back at Vanitas. "You've got it, Roxas!" He held up his Keyblade, ignoring Roxas's groan.

_Why does he- oh, nevermind, I'll have to deal with that later._ Roxas thought to himself before he decided to do a little trick… The Nobody pierced the ground with his Oathkeeper before he lifted himself and then sliding right into Vanitas! This actually caught the fast masked boy off guard and made him trip, allowing Ven and Mickey to slash him!

Vanitas hit the ground, but he laughed, quickly regaining his footing. "HAHAHAHA! So you CAN put up a decent fight somewhat." The masked boy suddenly made the Corridor of Darkness behind him. "You win again… for now. Consider yourself on probation, Ventus…" And with that, he backed into it before disappearing, leaving the three alone.

* * *

Ven sighed in relief before turning to Roxas, crossing his arms in irritation. "Roxas… why are you wearing that cloak?" He rolled his eyes. "Seriously, it doesn't look like you at all!" Roxas blinked at that, and he opened his mouth to object, but Ventus continued to speak, steamrolling over the Nobody's attempt to stop him. "And for that matter, since when could you wield a Keyblade? You never told me that!"

"Weren't you listening to me? I said I'm not this Roxas person everyone keeps calling me!" the Nobody said in annoyance. "I don't know why everyone insists on calling me that!" Then he blinked, seeing Ven shake his head in amusement. "...What is it?"

The blond haired look alike merely grinned at Roxas. "...You don't get it, do you?" Roxas frowned in confusion at that. "C'mon- guess how I know. It's pretty cool, actually!"

Mickey walked up to them, frowning in confusion. "So wait, are you Roxas or not?"

"I'm NOT! And I don't know why this kid here keeps calling me that!" Roxas snapped, glaring in irritation. "I don't want to guess because I'm sure whatever you think you saw was just in your moment of being controlled!"

Ven shrugged, still grinning. "Sure, that's what made it positive… But c'mon Roxas, stop playing- your heart gave it away easily!" Roxas's eyes widened at that, and he took a tiny step back. "...Roxas? What's wrong?"

"N-no, that's impossible…" Roxas murmured to himself before straightening up and looking straight at Ventus. "Because I don't _have _a heart…"

Ven blinked at that, before frowning in confusion. "What? Sure you do- it's right here!" He poked at Roxas's chest. "I dunno why, but ever since we first met, I could just _sense_ when it was you- I don't know how that cloak of yours fooled me this long, really!"

Roxas looked away as Ven reached for his hood, the Nobody didn't bother to move… what was the point? He couldn't deny himself from this kid- for some reason he could sense he was Roxas, and no matter what the Nobody said, Ven would not be persuaded otherwise. Ven soon removed the hood from the future boy's face, revealing his whole head and surprising Mickey at how much the two looked alike.

The blond boy in front of Roxas smiled, before giving Roxas a big hug. "There we go- ya see?" He pulled back from the hug, shrugging. "Was it really that hard? I still don't see the big deal- it's _awesome_ that you have a Keyblade, really!"

Roxas looked down at his hand, seeing Oathkeeper was still there. The Nobody sighed as he sadly replied, "There's… a reason why I didn't want you to know, Ventus…" Ven blinked at that before Roxas looked up at Ventus, a serious look in his eyes.

Ven frowned in confusion, looking Roxas over. "What, is it because of the cloak? I don't really see the issue- it looks okay on you, after all! What's the problem, Roxas? Why… didn't you want me to know?"

"It's not just you that I didn't want finding out." Roxas said, his voice full of both sadness and tiredness. "I meant what I said before… I'm an outsider. Meaning, I don't belong here, nor should I be able to wield a Keyblade. In showing you, I just caused a chain of events that could greatly impact… the future. You, Aqua, Terra… anyone here really, weren't supposed to know… hence why I acted like I did when we first met. And… I didn't think it wouldn't mattered much to you since… I'm not really a part of your circle of friends, Ventus…"

Ven blinked in surprise, before his eyes softened. Roxas frowned in confusion at that, before his look alike hugged him! "Roxas…" he murmured softly. "I don't know why you think that… but you _are_ one of my friends… When you disappeared on the dwarf's world… I nearly lost it- I looked _everywhere_ for you…!"

"Well… I don't know… you didn't seem to care that much when you saw me again in Maleficent's castle." Roxas said with a small frown. Ven winced at that, looking down. "...What is it?"

Ven sighed, glancing up at Roxas. "I-I thought… Well… I thought you would be going with Aqua… I still need to find Terra- and being with Aqua was safer than with me… You disappeared with me, after all- if it had happened again, I… I don't think I would've been able to keep _looking_ for Terra…"

"Well... Aqua lost me too." Roxas said with a small hint of bitterness. "But it doesn't matter… at least I was able to come here and completely ruin everything."

"What? Why would you say tha-" Ven started to say, but Roxas interrupted him.

"Ven, please, you can't tell_ anyone_ that I can wield the Keyblade, especially to Terra and Aqua. They may not be as understanding as you." Roxas said, practically begging his look alike.

Ven frowned at that, but he sighed, slowly nodding. "Oh… Alright, fine…" Then he gave Roxas a small smile. "But now… maybe we can work together- you know, so you don't have to be alone?"

"I wasn't alone before…" Roxas said softly. "Just… in my battles…" He looked at his arm, rubbing it gently. "... And lately it feels like I've been in one tough battle after another with little to no rest…"

"That would explain it!" Mickey spoke up, nodding understandingly. "That would explain why you looked so tired and weak earlier!"

Ven frowned a bit, before he shrugged. "Well… I still need to find Terra… but we can go to another world, find a hotel- you know… Just take a nap for one day… If we both need it, then we need to slow down…"

Roxas sighed before dismissing his Keyblade, looking at Mickey in slight confusion. "... How did you get here, anyway?"

Mickey perked up, smiling. "Oh, well I got here by using this!" He took out a star shaped crystal from his pocket.

Ven and Roxas frowned in confusion, looking at it closer. "...What is it?" Ven finally asked. "It looks like… some kinda star, but other than that…"

"It's a transporter- it's called a Star Shard. I uh… sort of borrowed it from Master Yen Sid while he wasn't looking. Although… I can't seem to control it very well, it just seems to react whenever it wants to." Mickey frowned, looking it over before smiling at the two look alikes in front of him. "But hey, if it hadn't, I wouldn't have found ya fellas! I think maybe the Star Shard takes me where I _need_ to go."

Roxas crossed his arms, frowning in thought. "A Star Shard, huh… That's a new one on me…"

Ven nodded, crossing his arms thoughtfully as well. "Yeah, same here… I've never heard of those before- not from Master Eraqus, at least…"

Mickey smiled a bit before it suddenly shined brightly! "H-huh? WHOA!" The three of them were soon engulfed by the light!

* * *

**Key2DestNE: Well then, THAT just happened. *chuckles* I'd bet you didn't expect that sort of insanity to come from US, huh? ...Actually no, you probably did. *sweatdrops***

**DarkFoxKit: Yeah, the whole boss fight with Lady Tremaine and the two girls was also a surprise for us, but we didn't want Roxas fighting the same boss Aqua was, so we decided to have him fight with another Disney Villain- or should we say VillainS- that we didn't fight before in the series! And maybe we went a little overboard with their… ahem… design, but we think it's pretty fitting since they always say jealousy brings out the worst in people.**

**Key2DestNE: And considering how they act in the movies, their attacks worked just as well too!**

**DarkFoxKit: And this is probably one of our longest chapters. As you may notice, there seems to be a running trend with Roxas and Vanitas. And some of you may question why Vanitas was able to control Ven like he did. Well, the two of us think it's a possible power for him to be able to manipulate the mind of Ven, but only for a short time and when he's in contact with him, which also helps with the drama between Ventus and Roxas.**

**Key2DestNE: Yeah, and you'll have to wait and see if there's any other lasting effects from that little fight. Now then, on to the reviewers! Hmm… let's see, what other possible reviews might we get…? ...Oh- the in-game powers! A lot of you have been asking for Roxas to have a Shotlock. Well, this has all been pre-written, so we certainly aren't changing it now… but you'll have to wait and see about when- or even IF- he gets a Shotlock, a D-Link, or anything else from BBS.**

**DarkFoxKit: Why is everyone so obsessed with Roxas getting a Shotlock, anyway? I get that it's flashy and cool, but it's not like it's the greatest Keyblade power out there.**

**Key2DestNE: No, but you answered your own question. *deadpan* It's flashy and cool, and by now we've become a generation distracted by shiny obje- ooh, a penny!**

**DarkFoxKit: But it's not like you can actually SEE it! Oh nevermind, I'm just glad you guys enjoy it so much. Now we hadn't seen any complaints or questions other than Roxas getting a Shotlock, so that's all we really have to say for now. Leave your thoughts and comments in the review and don't be afraid to ask questions of the current chapters.**

**Key2DestNE: Seriously, ask questions, even silly-sounding ones! We can't fill up this AN with answers if we don't get questions in the first place!**


	8. Chapter 7: Struggles

**DarkFoxKit: Ahem… first of all… I like to apologize for updating a lot later than I usually do. See… we had some issues yesterday and forgot to do the AN in advanced, so I had to wait until the school day was over before we could update it.**

**Key2DestNE: Yeah, but on the bright side, we DID update on Monday, so we have that going for us!**

**DarkFoxKit: Yeah, we never gave a specific time we'd update, just on that day. Anyways… here's the next chapter, and yes, they're finally in Radiant Garden, with a surprise battle here for our dear little Roxas.**

**Key2DestNE: Hee hee~! *grins mischievously* Oh, poor Roxas- he has no idea what he's in for here!**

**DarkFoxKit: Anyways, we'll address the questions down below. We hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Struggles**

Roxas groaned as he found himself waking up in a flower bed this time… At least this time he didn't fall and hit the ground like before. The young Nobody began sitting up, realizing he was still wearing his coat. He looked around, frowning in confusion. "... Where… am I? … What happened to Mickey and Ven?" he didn't ask anyone in particular- he was just speaking out loud.

So it surprised him when a voice spoke up: "Yer in Radiant Garden, young man! Now get outta there before ya ruin the roses and make me buy new ones!" Roxas blinked in surprise, glancing up to see an elderly duck wearing expensive-looking clothes.

"What? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize this was your property sir!" Roxas quickly said as he jumped out of the flower bed, but he immediately fell back to his knee when he landed, his body was very sore. "Ugh…" _I seriously need to find a place to rest for a while… If I keep pushing my body like this, I could end up fading away. And if I do that while in the past… who knows what might happen!_

The elderly duck frowned in concern, walking over to him. "...Are you alright, laddie? You look like you've done more than a wee bit o' fighting…" he held out a hand- er, wing. "The name's Scrooge- Scrooge McDuck. If ya need a place to rest, I'll give ya a room for the night- but only 'cause I'd rather nobody died on my roses!"

"... That's very nice of you sir, but I can find a place to crash for a while myself." Roxas said, waving it off. "I don't need a whole night, just a quick nap should do it…"

The duck frowned in confusion, putting his hands on his hips. "Now how in the world would a wee nap make ya feel so much better that ya aren't on one knee like that?"

"I can heal fast…" Roxas said tiredly as he stood up. "I just need some Potions and Ethers, a small nap and I should be good to go." With that said, the young Nobody began walking away.

The duck frowned in a bit of concern, but he sighed, walking away. Roxas didn't even notice when a certain sphere appeared in the sky behind him and an armored figure flew down on a skateboard-like Keyblade Glider.

Roxas walked near some houses in the area… It wasn't crowded, not a lot of people… There weren't any Unversed or potential enemies around. _Good, maybe I can actually rest here for a while…_ He smiled to himself, sitting down near a pipe and closing his eyes.

* * *

…_I'm… here again? So… I just need… to fall asleep in order to get here? Huh… Good to know… I looked around. Is the voice… going to appear again?_

"_... Roxas…" Yes, I hear him… I think it's a 'he' anyway. Please, you still haven't told me why I'm here or who you are…_

"_You're here… because… I wanted you to see…"_

… _See? See what?_

"_The… tragedy of three… Keyblade Wielders…"_

_H-huh? But why? I don't understand- and what tragedy are you talking about?_

"_It… might help… when you reunite… with Sora… knowing what happened… in the past…"_

… _So… I'm still going to reunite with him? No, that's not… I don't want to give up my own person just for him!_

"_You will see… soon enough… You will see… Do not worry… about changing the future… You will… be safe…"_

_I don't understand! How could I be safe? How could I not alter anything? I'm in the past and anything I do will cause the future to change!_

"_... It won't change because…Memories are a fragile thing…" Huh? I don't understand… "You will… soon enough… Roxas…"_

* * *

As Roxas was asleep, he didn't notice a few Unversed pop up around him ten minutes later, or when one of them was about to attack him. He DID notice, though, when a certain blond lookalike easily destroyed it and smashed the others away from him.

"Wah!?" Roxas jumped… and hit his head on the pipe. "OW!" He grabbed his head, groaning in pain. "Ugh… Ven?" He looked up at the mentioned boy in confusion.

Ventus nodded, giving a bright smile. "Yeah- you arrived here too, huh Roxas? For some reason, I woke up in the Lanes Between, not actually on the world- and I find you taking a nap!"

The blond Nobody grumbled, slowly standing up with a grunt. "Yeah well, I needed to get _some_ sleep… I'm all sore and my body feels like it's going to collapse! I have no Potions, Ethers or Elixirs either- in fact, I'm surprised I haven't just dropped and died yet. Ugh… Where does your boundless energy come from anyway, Ven?"

The boy in front of Roxas blinked, frowning in confusion. "...You don't know?" Roxas frowned as well as Ven pointed behind him. "There are spots all over the worlds- if you use one, all your energy will flow back to you! I'm surprised you haven't heard of them since you're a Keyblade Wielder…"

"... Spots?" Roxas frowned in confusion- he remembered the data Twilight Town he was in had these certain special spots, but he just thought it was because it was a virtual town. "So… you… don't sleep, at all?"

Ven chuckled at that, shrugging. "When I'm at home? I sleep until like noon some days- I just haven't here because I heard about them! Besides, sleeping while there are enemies around is kinda like asking for a death sentence."

"Yeah, that's a good point." Roxas sighed, rubbing his back in a bit of pain. "I'm still so tired and sore, but… I'll live until I can get an Elixir or one of those 'energy points' as you called them."

Ven nodded, smiling. "Right- do you know what they look like?" Roxas frowned, shaking his head. "Really? Well, they're bright green spots on the ground- usually only Keyblade Wielders can see them, except for some worlds… On those, _everyone_ sees them."

"... I thought I saw some green spots before, but… I don't know, you could call it paranoia, but I felt like I was gonna get trapped in some virtual reality if I touched them. Besides; bright green? It sounds like dangerous radiation if you ask me." the Nobody said, looking a bit wary. "Um… wait, I still have my coat on… Should I take it off?" Roxas wondered- if Terra and Aqua were here, he didn't want to be in this coat, but if they ARE here and there are Unversed here… he'd rather he HAD his coat.

Ven shrugged, thinking to himself. "Well… you might as well keep it on for now- but keep the hood down, Roxas. We both know it's you, and if we see Aqua or Terra, you can just quickly pull it on without them seeing you!"

"Right, and Ven… thanks. Aqua might suspect me though, or think of me as that boy in the mask, so… if that happens I'm either bolting or you help me out there, okay?" Roxas quickly said nervously, glancing around.

Ven nodded, glancing up at the castle nearby. "Right… I think Mickey went up there, though- wanna help me check? It'd be really quick!"

"Mickey? So he's here too huh..." Roxas jumped to his feet, stretching a bit. "W-well in that case… let's get going! Oh, and if you see any Moogle Shops, could you get me an Elixir please?"

Ven nodded, smiling brightly. "Sure- now c'mon, let's go!" With that said, Ventus began running up the stairs, and Roxas blinked at how fast the boy was now. "Hurry up!" he called back.

"..." Roxas frowned a bit before running after Ven. "Did you get faster or something? Or am I getting slower?"

Ven glanced at Roxas, shrugging. "Well, maybe a bit of both…" He smiled brightly. "I'm getting a lot more experienced, though- so I'm definitely doing better than I did when we sparred! But… You know, you're also a bit slower- you're exhausted, remember?"

"Hey, I'm not_ that_ exhausted." Roxas grumbled before giving his look alike a small smile. "But it's nice to see you're getting stronger, Ven."

Ven gave a slightly proud grin, chuckling sheepishly as they reached the top of the stairs. "Yeah, I guess I'm doing better… C'mon, let's head in!" He began to walk into the castle up ahead before two guards stopped him. "Huh!?"

Roxas blinked, the two guards looked familiar to him… "... You two…" _Xaldin? Lexaeus? No… that's impossible._

"Sorry, no entry permitted to outsiders." 'Lexaeus' said firmly, keeping his weapon in front of the two.

"But we just want to find a friend of ours- he just came this way!" Ven spoke up, frowning a bit, but neither of the two moved.

Roxas blinked before realizing that these two… _They must be Xaldin and Lexaeus before they became Nobodies. So this is their world, huh…? _"Come on, Ven, I don't think they're going to let us through."

Ven frowned in disappointment, muttering to himself, "I could've _sworn_ it was him…" But he turned around, just in time to see an Unversed appear! "H-huh!?" This one seemed bigger than the rest, and it was more robotic as well.

Roxas frowned, this Unversed… reminded him of Guard Armor almost, but… It was little bit smaller, like it was missing pieces or something. _I wonder if… it's in parts like the Guard Armor was…_ "Come on, we better follow it." Roxas said to Ven, who nodded.

The two guards were already walking towards it as if ready to fight and defend the castle. Roxas had to commend their loyalties since he only knew about their Nobodies, but… "Let us handle it, please." he said to them as Ven already rocketed forward, surprising the young Nobody. "H-hey! Not so fast please!" He rushed after his look alike, not noticing a scientist walk out of the castle behind them.

The two of them rushed after the Unversed as fast as they could, but it sped ahead to the garden, and when they arrived, it was coming closer to the duck from before, Scrooge McDuck! "Ach, no ye don't! How dare ye!? Back off, ya fiend! Ye won't be gettin' _my_ money!" he snapped.

Roxas almost dropped his jaw at this. _Seriously? Is that how muggers look in this world!? Or is this guy just obsessed with money!?_ "V-Ven!?" he yelled in shock when he suddenly saw the faster boy just swipe at the Unversed, causing it to fly away further. _That's odd… I should still be able to keep up with him despite his speed… Is there something wrong with me? I know I was tired, but this is ridiculous!_

Ven gritted his teeth in irritation, rushing after the Unversed before Scrooge stopped him. "Wait a moment, laddie!" he called, making the blond pause as the duck walked forward. "Don't I even get a chance to repay ye?"

"You don't have to, please, I have to chase that thing." Ven said quickly.

"Now wait just a minute, I won't be havin' ya run off before I can properly repay ya. And I don't mean my money." Scrooge said, before noticing Roxas. "Oi, it's you again laddie! Now I have a gift here for that two of ya, in my hat." He smiled and took out his hat. "Now come here, I'd like you two see it."

Curious now, Ven and Roxas slowly began approaching the duck, who spoke into his hat. "You don't have to hide it from me… You two are from another world, aren't ye? That's okay, yer secret's safe with me, fer I too am from another world meself."

Ven and Roxas blinked before they nodded, Ven straightening up with a smile. "Okay, is that all?"

"Ah, here ya go! Life time passes to Disney Town- ye'll have buckets of fun, but be sure to bring at least two grown-ups with ya, laddies." Scrooge said, holding out four passes.

Roxas blinked before Ven took the cards. _Bring two grown ups? What, he thinks we're eight or something?_

Ven smiled a bit, before he put them in his pocket. "Thanks, Mr. McDuck- we'll be on our way now! C'mon, Roxas!" With that, he turned and began running after the Unversed once more.

* * *

Roxas was panting at this point, he didn't know why he felt so much weaker… that nap should've helped him, yet for some reason he felt like he was going to keel over soon. Ven kept running so far ahead of him… Roxas jumped and had to glide after the fast boy. "You… are… going too… fast… I can hardly… keep up, Ven." The tired Nobody wasn't sure if the look alike even heard him.

Ven kept running after the Unversed, but this time he was stopped by an old man in a blue cap and wearing a blue gown complaining loudly. "Oh, hang it all! Can't I get a moment's peace in my new hometown!?"

Ven gasped, stopping and turning to the man next to him. "M-Mister, you gotta get inside! It's not safe out here!"

"Not safe? I'll have you know, young man, that I may be old but I am a powerful wizard- MERLIN the wizard, as a matter of fact!" the old wizard snapped. "... Hmm…" He studied Ven for a minute. "Let me guess, you're here to unlock your true potential, is that it?"

Ven blinked, surprised. "W-what? How did you know!?" He frowned in confusion, glancing around but he didn't see the Nobody anywhere. "...Roxas? Huh… I guess I went too fast for him." He sweatdropped, rubbing the back of his neck. _Maybe I should go slower next time… But I thought someone like Roxas could easily keep up with me..._

"Now the book is inside, so come in and take a look if you want." Merlin said as he went into the house.

Ven smiled, walking closer to the house before he stopped. "...Wait… _what_ book?" he murmured to himself. _And… maybe I should wait for Roxas… _He hesitated again before walking inside the house.

Meanwhile, the said Nobody was whacking at some Unversed that appeared in front of him. _Seriously!? He just LEFT me behind like that!? Ugh… I shouldn't be feeling THIS tired! That's it, I'm going to hunt down an Elixir even if it kills me! _Finally, Roxas managed to dispatch the last large Unversed, before he noticed a green circle on the ground nearby him. "...Huh? Is this… that spot Ven was talking about earlier?"

The young Nobody hurried into it and felt the green light surround him. Roxas closed his eyes as he felt his exhaustion and injuries fade away, almost as if he was as good as new. Smiling in relief, the renewed Nobody stepped out of the light, nodding to himself. "That'll definitely make things a lot easier. Now… where did Ven go?"

He looked around before noticing his look alike walking out of a nearby building. "Ven!" He rushed up to him, taking a moment to catch his breath again. "Slow down next time- and what were you doing in there, anyhow?"

The look alike blinked before seeing the Nobody, and he shrugged. "Well apparently this book helped unlock some potential in me- not sure what, though. And I'm really sorry, I didn't realize you were falling behind…"

Roxas shrugged, giving a bright smile. "It's okay, I feel much better now after finding one of those special spots you told me about. They really come in handy- I'm surprised I didn't see them before! …" He frowned in thought, crossing his arms. _Come to think of it… why COULDN'T I see those special spots in the Organization? I had my Keyblade_ then_\- what's changed?_

"Well that's good then! Now come on, that Unversed can't be too far! Think you can keep up with me this time?" Ven asked, smirking.

Roxas smirked back, shrugging. "We'll see then, let's go!" And with that, both boys hurried after the Unversed.

As they chased the Unversed, Roxas noticed they were getting closer and closer to the edges of the town, until finally they were running on the top of the walls bordering around the town. The Nobody frowned as they soon reached a clearing of the buildings, almost like an arena, and there he noticed Terra.

"Uh-oh…" Roxas quickly pulled up his hood to hide his face. He and Ven reached Terra about the same time… that Aqua did! _Aqua's here too!? Oh… Hearts… _He gulped.

Aqua gasped, seeing Ven with who she thought was Vanitas. "VEN! Get away from him!" she glared at Roxas with anger in her eyes. _Why is he with Ven!? Heck, why isn't Ven DOING anything about it!? Did he brainwash Ven!?_

Roxas stopped short and began backing away. Ven frowned in confusion, Roxas had warned him Aqua may have thought he was the boy in the mask, but he didn't think she'd react so hostile towards him. "Uh… Aqua, what's wrong?" he worriedly asked.

Aqua frowned, but her attention was distracted when the three Unversed began to merge together into one. "W-what in the…?" she gasped, quickly summoning her Keyblade and not noticing Roxas run off while her attention was off of him.

"Aqua, was that Vanitas?" Terra asked her, despite the situation. _If it is… why is he not wearing his mask? Did something happen to it?_

"Yes, or at least, that's who he claimed to be." Aqua answered, frowning angrily. "Either way, he's dangerous!"

Terra frowned thought, summoning his own Keyblade. "I see… and what happened to Roxas? Did you take him back to the Land of Departure?" Aqua winced at that, and he noticed. "...Aqua? What happened!?" he demanded with a concerned frown. "Don't tell me he…!"

Ven gulped, quickly interjecting. "G-guys! We have to focus right now!" he reminded them, summoning Wayward Wind. "We've got a giant Unversed to beat together, we can't get distracted!"

* * *

While the three were busy with the Unversed, Roxas had snuck away from them in the shadows, quickly removing his black coat since he didn't want to deal with an angry Aqua and Terra.

"That was close… I hope Terra and Aqua would forgive me…" Roxas sighed, stuffing the cloak into his pocket once more and leaning against a nearby wall.

"Talking to yourself, eh kiddo?" Someone suddenly spoke up behind him.

Roxas jumped, recognizing that voice. "Xigbar!?" he accidentally blurted out when he turned around. He frowned a bit, though. _Wait… no, this has to be his original self- he doesn't have the eyepatch, the scar… heck, he looks eerily different!_

The man Roxas would later know as Xigbar frowned in confusion, shaking his head. "Who the heck is Xigbar? The name's Braig, tiger- don't get it so mixed up!" He smirked, leaning back "So, kid, you named Roxas?"

Roxas frowned and glared in suspicion… he didn't really know Xigbar all that well, but the man was known for his loyalty to Xemnas, next to Saix, and he almost killed Xi-... Someone? Roxas shook his head. "... That depends, who wants to know?"

Braig shrugged lazily, glancing over at Roxas with a slightly feral smirk. "Eh, nobody important really… But I'm under orders to test you, maybe bring you in if I'm lucky." He then aimed an arrowgun, which Roxas just noticed he was holding, right at Roxas's forehead! "So you might wanna get ready for a fight, kiddo- because I'm not gonna hold back."

"Wait a minute, I never said my name was Roxas, I just asked who wanted to know." Roxas spoke up, frowning in concern. "Besides, what if I'm just some kid? You'd be murdering an innocent child."

Braig chuckled, keeping his finger on the trigger. "As if! Ya know, he _said_ you were a smart one… but he also told me what you looked like, tiger. I'm not your grandma, ya know- you can't fool me into thinking you're somebody else! Now c'mon… Summon your little Keyblade- you_ know_ you have no choice."

"And what if I'm Ventus? I don't think this _he_ told you to test Ventus, now did he?" Roxas asked him, but he was ready to summon his Keyblade should Braig fire. He did remember fighting with Xigbar during some sparring matches, so he knew the guy loves to shoot rapidly and fast.

Braig merely laughed, shaking his head in amusement. "Wow, the old man's predictions were spot on! You really _did_ go for the look alike card next!" He smirked, twirling one of his arrowguns around his finger. "But I'm still not fooled… You say you're Ventus? As if! Well, fine- if you won't make a move, I will!" With that as his only warning, he fired a big dart.

In the blink of an eye, Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and deflected the shot right back at Braig! Braig gasped as he felt his dart hit his gut, and Roxas didn't hesitate to run at him and whale on his body while he was stunned from the shot. Braig didn't stay stunned for long, though, as he quickly teleported away and shot at Roxas from another angle. Roxas hissed in pain as he felt some of the energy darts hit his back.

Braig gave a smirk, quickly recovering from his own bolt being reflected right back at him. "Well you're a lot faster than I'd thought you'd be, heh." he aimed at the Nobody's back again and fired.

Roxas barely dodged the attack as he turned around and glared, grabbing Oathkeeper with both hands and getting into his battle stance. From what he knew with Xigbar was that you can't get in close until you could either stun him or wait until he's out of ammo and attack while he's reloading- neither options were common though, and it's mostly a skill of survival and luck.

Braig grinned cockily, aiming both of his arrowguns at Roxas's forehead. "You're definitely fast- but I wonder, _how_ fast? Fast enough to _dance_!?" he began firing down at Roxas's feet, making the Nobody begin to hop back and forth on both feet.

Roxas had to run as the shots were constantly being shot at his feet, and he began to Dodge Roll, trying to get closer towards Braig. Then he stopped and used Oathkeeper to block most of the energy darts right back at Braig- this time, even though it hurt, him it didn't stun him and he was still shooting. Roxas Dodge Rolled again, then Braig suddenly teleported to a balcony on top of the house.

"I can see you~" Braig said as he began shooting at Roxas like a hunter shooting an animal. "You'd better be fast!" he taunted, firing again and again before he reloaded.

Roxas groaned, this was going to get annoying. Roxas tried to deflect some energy darts back at Braig, but he got hit a few times… and unfortunately, being hit a few times was fatal with someone like Braig, because he was now wide open for multiple shots! "Argh!" Roxas shouted in pain before he managed to deflect a big energy dart back at Braig, making him stop long enough for Roxas to cast Curaga on himself.

Braig growled angrily, but he teleported back down to Roxas's level, beginning to shoot a lot closer again. "You think you can get away? As if!" he taunted, managing to hit Roxas right in the knee! "C'mon, are _all _Keyblade Wielders this weak!?"

Roxas hissed in pain, falling to one knee, but he managed to stab his Keyblade into the ground, and he used it to push off the ground and kick Braig right in the gut with his leg that wasn't paralyzed by the energy!

The young Nobody was now limping, but he didn't want to waste his magic energy on another Cure until it was needed, so he had to try and be smart and fast. Braig jumped over Roxas and began shooting from above! Roxas gasped as he tried to run but his paralyzed leg wouldn't let him and he fell on his back! Thinking fast, Roxas began swinging his Oathkeeper in a frenzy, hoping to bat away all the energy beams before they could hit and possibly kill him.

Thankfully, though, Braig was hit by every single energy beam, since they were reflected right back up at his face. "Gah!" He winced in pain, getting smacked by Oathkeeper more than once.

Braig hissed as he teleported to the top balcony again, figuring since Roxas is limping it'll make it easier to shoot him from afar. "Heh, I can see you~"

Roxas hissed as he cast Reflect to buy some time, but when the next set of shooters came at him, the Nobody was ready and used Oathkeeper to deflect them like a baseball bat! The energy darts were swung back at Braig and he grunted in pain each time, especially since the darts gained more momentum when they were swung back like that.

Eventually, Braig teleported back down and began firing at Roxas again. The Nobody decided to shoot back this time, though, using the new Shotlock he's been learning. Roxas tried to take aim, but he soon realized how dangerous that was as he was hit several times and couldn't get a good lock on him! _Note to self; don't ever try the Shotlock on fast enemies._ Roxas had to Dodge Roll away, though his injured leg made it rather difficult for him to maneuver much.

Braig was still shooting as fast as he could, taking mere moments to reload each time. Unfortunately for him, though, Roxas was much more prepared, and he _easily_ reflected them all back. Braig grunted in pain, but he teleported after the first one. "You think you can hit me? As if!" He fired again, but Roxas easily dodged it, firing a huge Firaga right at the man! "GAH!" He groaned in pain, slightly singed. "Note to self- _never_ fight you brats fair again!"

Roxas used the Oathkeeper to help him jump over Braig, who was still recovering from his Firaga attack, and slam his Keyblade right into Braig's gut! It caused the trigger happy shooter to fall to the ground in pain as the Nobody landed behind him. Roxas panted, but he could see that the battle was over. "... Well? Did I pass your little test?"

Braig merely groaned, slowly standing up and leaning against the wall for support. Then he gave Roxas a small smirk. "Heh… Not bad, tiger- you're even better than he said you were…" Then he began to walk away into another corner, calling back, "Guess my mission failed this time! But don't worry, Roxas- I'll be back sooner or later, and you'd better be ready!"

Roxas sighed as he sat down, his leg still paralyzed. The Nobody looked at Oathkeeper in his hand, wondering to himself. _I wonder if hiding myself is even doing me any good anymore… It's like everyone knows who I am… even though I'm not trying to get any attention. I wonder if my own Keyblade attracts other Keyblade users…_

Finally, his leg recovered enough for the Nobody to dismiss Oathkeeper and stumble over to where the other 3 Keyblade Wielders were, and he sat down, watching as they destroyed the last remnants of that big Unversed. _Oh good, they managed to finish it off together. Heh… Just like best friends…_

* * *

As soon as the Unversed was destroyed, the three met up in the middle, happy to see each other. Ven grinned happily gave his two other passes to Terra and Aqua, "It's lifetime passes to Disney Town, and he said…" then he frowned a bit, muttering, "... he said to take two 'grown ups'." Aqua and Terra chuckled at that, shaking their heads in amusement.

Roxas almost laughed at that, it was as if Ven is just _now_ getting it. It looked like the conversation was going well for the three friends… That is, until Ven said, pumping his fist confidently, "Trust me, that boy in the mask is history- he'll never bad mouth Terra again!"

Terra gasped and he said, his eyes widening in shock, "The boy in the mask! Are you okay, Ven?"

"U-uh, yeah." Ven frowned, confused at Terra's reaction. "What's the big deal, Terra?"

"Vanitas…" Terra frowned, glancing away in anger.

This confused Aqua though, and she blinked in surprise. "But… Vanitas was wearing a black coat, not a mask- are you sure it was him?"

Ven frowned in confusion, crossing his arms in thought. "...Uh… yeah, of course- the guy in the coat's a friend! I promise, he's not out to hurt anyone, and he even helped me fight off some bad guys!"

Terra frowned in confusion at that, but he shook his head, looking at the blond seriously. "Ven… Let Aqua take you home. It's dangerous out here, and I don't want you to get hurt while doing our mission."

"But Terra-" Ven tried to protest.

"Wait…" Aqua suddenly said, frowning. "Whether or not Vanitas is the boy in the mask or the boy in the black coat is still up for debate… but… Terra… I've been to the same worlds as you- I've seen what you've done… What _is_ this dangerous task of yours? It doesn't sound like what the Master said to do!"

"... You mean you've been spying on me? Does Master Eraqus not trust me?" Terra asked, frowning in anger at this. "Is _that_ his orders to you? To keep an eye on me?"

"No, he was just…" Aqua hesitated, glancing away sadly.

Terra shook his head, taking her hesitation as something else. "I see… Looks like I'm on my own now." He said as he began walking away.

"Terra! Please! The Master has no reason to distrust you, he was just worried! Listen to me, _please_ Terra!" Aqua called to him, but Terra kept going.

Roxas frowned at this, and he watched as Terra was walking down into a building. _… Why does this seem so familiar?_ A brief flashback of Roxas being with Axel and another, the three of them were inseparable, but then one of them left and the other wouldn't tell him anything. Roxas _did_ remember yelling at Axel before he left the Organization… _Maybe that's why it felt so familiar… Is… _this_ why that voice made me come here? There are… so many similarities…_

"You're awful Aqua…" Roxas's attention was caught when he heard Ven say this to the blue haired Keyblade Master next to him.

"... So now you know the truth…" Aqua said softly to him. "B-but… but the Master _loves_ Terra, and you know that just as much as I do…"

"Were you also… _ordered_ to take me home?" The boy asked her. Aqua hesitated at that, wincing. Ven shook his head, looking down sadly. "Ever since you became a Keyblade Master, Aqua… You let it go to your head… I'm going to find Terra- and apologize for what _you_ said to him." And with that, Ven ran off, leaving Aqua alone.

Roxas weakly stood up, seeing that argument and the three of them split up like that left a bitter taste in his mouth. _This… really seems way too familiar for my own good…!_ He slowly walked over to Aqua, tapping her shoulder. "... Aqua?"

The blue haired girl gasped in shock, turning to him with wide eyes. "R-Roxas!" She hesitated, before softly asking, "Did… you see all of that too?" When the blond in front of her nodded, she looked down in both sadness and slight frustration. "I… I didn't mean it like… like _that_…"

"It's okay Aqua… I understand." Roxas said softly, nodding. "You were ordered to keep an eye on them… You had your hands tied. You may not know it, but I can understand where you're coming from… You had to listen to your master even if it meant spying on your friends." _It's nothing I haven't done before myself… Maybe it's not the same thing, but still…_

Aqua looked at him in surprise before she noticed something. "W-wait…" her eyes widened in shock, seeing the boy limping. "Roxas, what happened to you!? I-in fact, how did you _get_ here!?" She quickly cast a small Cure on the boy, still looking him over worriedly.

"I kind of ran into someone who used a Star Shard, it took us both here but I haven't seen him since." Roxas explained, shrugging. "And the leg… I… I uh… tripped and fell down the stairs."

Aqua frowned, still looking Roxas over worriedly. "It's not just that, Roxas- you were _covered_ in bruises! Did someone try to hurt you again?!" By now Roxas was feeling uncomfortable with how worried she was with him. "W-we really should find Ven and get you both home…"

"..." Roxas sighed, looking down sadly.

"Roxas…" Aqua suddenly said, surprising the boy. "Vanitas is supposedly the boy in the mask… But the one I met wasn't wearing a mask, but a black coat."

Roxas frowned, looking up at her in confusion. "What about it?" Even though the Nobody acted innocent, he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach…

Aqua frowned, looking at Roxas a bit suspiciously. "And… well, it really _couldn't_ have been Ven, since he was right there…" Roxas gulped as she continued. "The… the only one who wasn't there… was _you_. Roxas… why did you lie so much to me about this whole thing? Why say you were Vanitas instead?"

"... What? You think it was _me_?" Roxas frowned, glancing around worriedly. _Please don't tell me my cover's going to get BLOWN AGAIN!_ "...I… I have to go." Panicked and not wanting Aqua to confirm his suspicion, the Nobody ran from her, thankful that his leg was no longer injured and he could run without limping.

Aqua gasped, too shocked to move in time. "R-Roxas, wait!" It was too late… he had already turned a corner and disappeared from sight. _Roxas… who _are_ you? What are you hiding from us?_

The Nobody didn't stop running, but he was lost in his thoughts, allowing his feet to just carry him. _What am I going to do now? Aqua most likely already knows… Ven definitely knows… Terra's bound to find out soon. I can't go back to them, not like this… but where am I supposed to go? … That voice was clear when he told me to stay with them, but… how can I? They already know too much about me… I don't want to disappear by changing the future like this!_

Roxas finally stopped near the flower beds, where he first entered this place. _… It… it almost feels like I have nowhere to go… like when I first left the Organization…_ "What am I going to do now?" he asked himself out loud.

"Hmph- doesn't matter to me." Roxas gasped at that, turning to see a familiar-looking boy behind him. "But you know… we haven't had that solo rematch yet- are you stronger than you were last time? I want to fight you like we did that first time! When you used two Keyblades against me instead of one." Then Vanitas shrugged. "But, I guess that's what happens when you hang around Ventus too long… You become _weaker_ instead of _stronger_."

"What are you saying?" Roxas snapped, glaring irritably. "Ven's getting a lot stronger! Don't talk down on him!"

"Hmph, who said I was talking down on _him_?" Vanitas said, walking around the wary Nobody. "Perhaps I'm talking about _you_, Roxas."

Roxas frowned at that… _'You become _weaker_ instead of _stronger_'. What does he mean by that? … It… it seems… familiar too… Why is _that_?_

Before the Nobody could think of it more, he heard a cry behind him. "Roxas!" Aqua ran up to him, before she noticed Vanitas and gasped in shock. "A mask! You're the boy that Ventus mentioned…!" She frowned. _Is _he_ Vanitas? Or is this another boy who just calls himself that…? … Maybe he really is Vanitas, because Roxas is right here…_

"Aqua!" Roxas frowned, he had hoped she wasn't following him. _I mean, come on! She had two other friends to worry about and I'M the one she comes after!? Give me a break already!_

"So it seems you've heard about me already." Vanitas said to her, smirking behind his mask. "I'm so _honored."_

"Aqua, why are you here?" Roxas frowned, knowing he couldn't take on Vanitas with her here.

The blue haired Keyblade Master frowned, but before she could say anything, Vanitas interrupted her. "Tell me something… Has Ventus learned to put up a _decent fight_ yet, Aqua? Hmm?"

"What do you want with Ven?" Aqua snapped at the boy in the mask, frowning angrily.

"I'll be the one asking the questions here! Because after all… only one of us is walking away alive- other than Roxas, if he's gotten any stronger…" Vanitas said sadistically as he summoned his Keyblade.

Roxas groaned at this. _Seriously? How many times am I going to be involved with this guy!? _He began to back away before Aqua grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. "H-huh?" He blinked in surprise, glancing up at her. "...Aqua…?"

She sighed, before looking at him seriously. "Roxas… I know you can use a Keyblade. _Please_, help me fight Vanitas…" She glared up at him, adding angrily, "He's planning to hurt Ven after he kills us- and I won't let that happen!"

Roxas frowned and sighed, clenching his fist in frustration. "... It's really not fair… that I wasn't able to keep my identity a secret…" The Nobody then glared, no longer caring to hide it anymore from her as he summoned Oblivion to his hand, wanting a heavy hitter for Vanitas. Roxas didn't hesitate to charge at Vanitas and slashed at him- after all, this is the _third time_ he's fought with the guy. They more or less know each other's strategies!

Aqua gasped, momentarily startled by it. _I-I was hoping I was wrong…! But… I guess he really does have a Keyblade after all… And by the looks of it… he's used to fighting a lot too. _She frowned, summoning her own Keyblade, Rainfell.

Roxas glared at Vanitas as he snapped angrily, "You're just so full of yourself, aren't you!? Did you do something to Ven earlier?"

Vanitas chuckled sarcastically, easily holding up against Roxas's blows. "Oh, look who's so smart all of a sudden- guess being so weak means you have to make up with it by being smarter! Well let me tell you, you're not so far off as you think…"

Roxas hissed, jumping back and firing off a Blizzard. "What did you do to him!?" he shouted, dodging Vanitas's strike as he slashed a second time.

Aqua came running in and slashed at Vanitas, causing the two boys to jump away from each other. "You did something to Ven!?" She scowled, firing off three Fire spells in a row. "WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

Vanitas only laughed, replying easily, "It's not any of your business." He jumped and began firing Dark Thunder at both of them. "_Roxas_ is the one whose life is on the line, not yours!"

Roxas Dodge Rolled away while Aqua cartwheeled away. Roxas couldn't help but blink at her style of dodging. _Cartwheels… Huh, never thought of that._ The Nobody then threw his Oblivion at Vanitas like a boomerang to hit the boy and get him down from the air and stop the Dark Thunder storm attack.

Vanitas hissed in pain, but he easily landed on the ground without any problems, and he dove under the ground, beginning to track Aqua. Roxas gasped as he ran over to Aqua and pushed her away just as Vanitas caught up and slashed! Roxas grunted in pain as that attack did severe damage, causing a few cracks to be heard as ribs broke like puny sticks!

"GAH!" He fell to the ground, clutching his chest as that's where he was hit. _W-what the heck!? Usually I'd do just fine against that kind of attack… Why is it so painful!? _"W-what did you do, Vanitas!?" he growled out.

"ROXAS!" Aqua ran over to him. "HEAL!" She quickly cast Cura on him, healing his cracked bones and ribs, but Roxas was still weak and barely able to stand.

Roxas groaned as he used the Keyblade to help him stand up. "Vanitas… did something… but I'm not sure what he did." Roxas said weakly to Aqua, still holding his chest painfully.

Vanitas laughed at that, shaking his head in sadistic amusement. "As much as I'd love to take credit for this, it's not me." He then fired another Dark Thunder, barely missing Roxas! "How ironic- one clone growing weaker while the other grows stronger!"

"Wh-what?" Roxas hissed, panting faintly. "What are you…" _Wait… is he saying… _Ven's_ doing this?_

Aqua glared at Vanitas, firing off a Shotlock of bubbles. "ENOUGH! You're not going to hurt my friend!" She charged at him, casting spell after spell, before she suddenly glowed! "Command Style: Spellcaster!"

Roxas groaned as he stood up while Aqua attacked. _This pain… it wasn't just from Vanitas's attack… Something's wrong with me… I shouldn't have a heart, but… why do I feel such pain in my chest? And… why does it… seem so familiar?_

The Nobody continued to groan in pain as flashes of a memory flew by. _"It's fine… I just feel a bit weaker, is all." Roxas told somebody. "Guess I caught the cold or something, heh…"_

"_Roxas! Are you okay?" a mysterious girl asked him._

"_I-I'm… fine… just feeling… tired is all, I guess…"_

Roxas grabbed his head, trying to get the memories to stop or he might scream again. "Ugh… come on… not now… Not in the middle of another battle…!" he muttered to himself. Thankfully the memory froze, and Roxas sighed in relief… right before he was tackled to the ground from above!

Vanitas laughed sadistically from above him, pinning Roxas down and beginning to slash away. "This is too easy- for a Keyblade Master, you certainly seem to be the weakest of them all!"

Roxas growled as he managed to kick Vanitas away and stab at his shoulder! "I'm not a Keyblade Master! And you shut up!"

Vanitas scoffed, jumping away. "I wasn't talking to you, Roxas. I was talking to Aqua here- she hits like a tiny water balloon! Pathe- UGH!" Aqua took the time to slash at his back while he was distracted!

"You were saying?" Aqua snapped angrily, spinning around her Keyblade like a baton.

"... Never anger a girl dude." Roxas said. "And I want to know… what you've done to me and Ven… I shouldn't be feeling this weak!" he snapped, grabbing his chest.

Vanitas chuckled, holding his Void Gear above his head. "It really isn't me, foolish Roxas… You really don't get it? It's the _weak link_ who's sacrificing you- all I did was give him the power to do so!"

"..." Roxas's eyes widened as more memories flashed by.

"_Don't you get it? _ Is a puppet and she's absorbing all your energy, Roxas! The longer she lingers around you… the weaker you will become until eventually you'll…"_

"_But why am I getting stronger and Roxas is getting weaker?"_

"_You're just… borrowing more than you should…"_

"_She's not a puppet!"_

_"You're next Roxas… I have to make you a part of me too. Don't you see? _This_ is why I was created!"_

"_I have the right to know the truth! Why did this happen!? … Where did I think I could go? What a joke… _…" So… much… static…_

Roxas hadn't realized it, but he was on his knees holding his head while Aqua was trying to keep Vanitas at bay. He gasped, quickly standing up and resummoning his Oblivion Keyblade. _T-this… has this happened before!? Who IS that in my memory!? Why can't I remember their name!?_

He gritted his teeth, deciding to ignore it, and he charged at Vanitas, slashing at his back while the masked boy was facing Aqua! "TAKE THIS!" he shouted, angrily slashing again and again as his irritation at his memories came pouring out like a flood.

Vanitas took a lot more than he expected before he hastily teleported from Roxas's slashings and dived at him with his Void Gear from above. "Too slow, just pathetic!"

"Gah!" Roxas hissed in pain at his arm since it's what got hit, but he didn't stop, he managed to turn and slash at Vanitas's side, causing the boy in the mask to fall to the ground and roll into the flower bed, finally unmoving.

Aqua panted a bit, smiling thankfully at Roxas. "Great job, Roxas…!" She then frowned, walking over to Vanitas and reaching down to his mask. "Now… who _are_ you…?"

Suddenly, Vanitas started laughing, and Aqua quickly jumped back, startled. Roxas frowned, resummoning Oblivion into his hand as Vanitas stood up, summoning a Dark Corridor behind him.

"Well, you're a bit tougher than I thought- maybe I'll keep you around." Vanitas said to Aqua before turning to Roxas. "Roxas… Let's see if you still like your_ clone_ after you learn what he's done. Never hurts to have backups, after all…" With that, he disappeared into the Dark Corridor.

Roxas frowned as he dismissed Oblivion and Aqua put a hand on his shoulder. "Huh?" _Oh right… I guess now that he's gone, she can talk to me about… why I lied to her… _"Look… Aqua… I…" He hesitated.

Aqua sighed, slowly shaking her head. "Roxas… I know you're worried about us finding out- I _get_ it now. But…" She looked him in the eye as she kneeled down, looking like she was about to cry. "I… I don't understand _why_\- why keep trying to hide? What's so wrong about knowing you have a Keyblade and want to help?"

"... Aqua… it's… because I'm a stranger- I wasn't chosen by any Keyblade Master. Don't you find it weird that some kid you've never seen or heard about before suddenly shows up and wields the Keyblade?" Roxas asked her, crossing his arms. "At the very least, I would look like some suspicious guy…"

"..." Aqua hesitated, sighing. "Okay, yes… at first, you seemed suspicious… but you proved yourself by continuing to help others even though you'd get hurt. I'm willing to bet that _you_ saved Cinderella… didn't you?"

Roxas didn't answer that, but Aqua knew the answer when she saw the look in his blue eyes. The Nobody sighed, looking down. "... Look, it's… really not easy for me to just… show up, looking like your friend Ventus and have a Keyblade. It's… more than just awkward, it's weird and… Eraqus had his Keyblade to my nose earlier about it…"

Aqua frowned, giving Roxas a small hug. "Hey… Roxas, listen to me…" she murmured softly. "It may be strange… but you're a lot different from Ven- you're your own person… Despite how you look, I honestly think you're a lot less naive, and in all honesty… I've only known you for a few hours- but it's still seemed like _ages_ for me…"

"It's been a few days Aqua… The worlds have different time zones, but it's been almost a week." Roxas told her, frowning in a bit of concern. "And besides… I'm… probably not as different from Ven as I had hoped… There were a lot of… clues hinting that we're too much alike."

Aqua blinked at that, looking at Roxas in confusion. "...Such as?" she warily asked. "I really… haven't seen any other than the scream…"

"Our lives mirrored each other too similarly Aqua…" Roxas said with a frown as he began panting more and clutching his chest once more. "... And… I… *huff*" _Not again… Is Ven doing this? But… he's not here, is he?_

"AQUA!" Roxas froze, hearing Ven behind him. "Roxas!" The Nobody quickly let go, turning around to see Ventus running up to them. "I finally found you both…"

"V-Ven?" Roxas stumbled back a bit, feeling weaker when Ven got closer. _I-it IS him… What in the world?_

Aqua looked over at Ven, not really knowing what's happening to Roxas, but thinking he was sick, she decided enough was enough.

"Terra left…" Ven frowned, glancing down. "He's just… _gone_… I don't get it…"

"I see…" Aqua sighed, looking down sadly.

Then the present blond boy smiled, "Aqua, let me go with you and Roxas, we can-"

"No, Ven!" Aqua gave him a stern look, shaking her head. "You need to take Roxas and return home, _now_. I just don't want either of you two to get hurt."

Ven frowned, starting to protest weakly. "B-but, but Aqua…" he began to say. "I-I want to come with you- what's the problem!? I can fend for myself…"

"Please Ven, just take Roxas and get back home. I'll take care of Terra myself." Aqua said as she tapped her armor and walked past the boys, looking back at them once more. _Maybe Roxas has a point… he and Ven really are similar and in more ways than one… Which is why I don't want him to get hurt either._ And with that, she got on her Keyblade Glider and left.

* * *

**Key2DestNE: Well well well, looks like Roxas just had a run-in with our favorite sniper~!**

**DarkFoxKit: Bet ya'll weren't expecting that, huh? The battle with Xigbar is a lot of fun in Kingdom Hearts II and we thought we should incorporate it here with Roxas and Braig. Also, it seems that Vanitas appears wherever Roxas is… I wonder why that is. Hee, hee~!**

**Key2DestNE: Weeeell, we're going to have to leave that up to the readers' imaginations for now- because now, it's time to answer any questions you guys had in the reviews!**

**DarkFoxKit: First, someone asked if Roxas will go with Terra again soon since he's mostly been with Aqua and Ven. Well folks, to be honest, Terra seems to be more of a loner than the other two, and he wants to face his darkness by himself, so it's kind of hard to have Roxas go with him without Terra being out of character.**

**Key2DestNE: That's right- now that doesn't mean we won't ever see Terra again, you all! It just means that pushing Roxas and Terra together may seem to be slightly forced at times, not to mention it won't be as often as the others.**

**DarkFoxKit: Now, as for the other question… 'Is Roxas going to be able to combine his Shotlock with his Limit Break?' was the question. Well… that's a bit hard to answer.**

**Key2DestNE: You see, Roxas's Shotlock won't be related to his Limit Break, but it may be slightly related to his other abilities. *grins mysteriously* Remember, he IS Sora's Nobody, so check out every form and battle you fight with as both~!**

**DarkFoxKit: And now, we've finished answering all the current questions. We hope you guys enjoyed this, and don't be afraid to ask us something about the current chapters. We'll see ya'll next week!**

**Key2DestNE: Bye bye, everyo- *suddenly gets a feeling of doom* ...U-uh… Fox? There aren't any Kingdom Hearts fangirls in any of the cameras, are there?**

**DarkFoxKit: Hmm? What do you mean? It's just the two of us here.**

**Key2DestNE: J-just check them, please! I don't like the feeling I'm getting right now…!**

**DarkFoxKit: Okay, fine, I'll look. *looks at the camera and…* … That's… a lot of… fangirls… where did they all come from?**

**Key2DestNE: *begins freaking out* I KNEW IT! I KNEW MAKING THIS GOOD A STORY WOULD END IN OUR DOOM! Reviewers, if you learn ANYTHING from this, don't make a good Roxas story, or it'll end in your doo- *the door suddenly got smashed down and he began to get glomped!* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! THE PAIN! THE PAAAAAAAIN!**

**DarkFoxKit: *was using illusions to turn into one of them and avoid getting trampled before talking into the camera* Ignore him, it's always good to make a good story, even a Roxas one. Just… try to avoid the fans if you can. See ya next time… after I get Key to the hospital.**


	9. Chapter 8: Traveling

**Key2DestNE: Hey guys, Key here- time for another chapter update! I'm sure you all are super excited for this, right?**

**DarkFoxKit: Yes, this is the chapter Roxas and Ven finally meets Lea and Isa! Also, it's when they go to Disney Town! Were you guys looking forward to this?**

**Key2DestNE: Heh… they probably were- I know I have been, and I'm one of the authors who wrote it! *is grinning in excitement, bouncing up and down***

**DarkFoxKit: Of course you were! Now when they get to Disney Town, we had to change and adjust a few things and characters for Roxas- you know, to keep the tradition that every character gets their own 'ice cream' and 'adventure' in that world. The 'mini-game' we added was based off of the 'Odd Job' mini-game from Twilight Town's tutorial from Kingdom Hearts II.**

**Key2DestNE: But don't worry, it isn't just a simple copy and paste of that mini-game! ...Okay, it sort of is, b-but it actually serves a purpose, so I hope you all pay attention to it instead of just skipping it in hopes of more action!**

**DarkFoxKit: And there's more after Disney Town, but we won't spoil it. Now get to reading~**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Traveling**

Ven was sitting in the flower bed while Roxas was sitting next to him. The Nobody was trying not to show he was weak but he was beginning to pant a bit more. _I can't… let this go on… But… how is Ven… doing this?_

Ven didn't even notice Roxas was panting, holding the wooden Keyblade in his hands as a memory flashed by of when he first got it. _Terra… Aqua… what's happened between us? I… I thought we were friends… equals…_

The Nobody looked over at Ven, he decided to try and ask him, "V-Ven… um… listen… sometimes… friends need some time to be alone and… work things out… And uh… do you feel any different?"

Ven frowned, but then he blinked, feeling Roxas nudge his side. "H-huh? ...Oh…" He frowned a bit, looking himself over. "Uh… not really- stronger, but I've been fighting a lot of Unversed lately…"

"I see…" Roxas looked down before looking up at him. "Um… Ven… I think… maybe you… might be…" he wasn't sure how to tell him without Ven taking it the wrong way. The boy was already pretty angry with his friends, he didn't need Roxas speaking nonsense to him too.

Ven frowned in confusion, turning a bit to look at Roxas. "What? What is it? You can just say it! I might be what? ...C'mon, Roxas!" He nudged the Nobody a bit.

Before Roxas could say anything, though, they heard someone, "Hmm? Am I seeing double or are you two twins?"

Roxas's eyes widen as he saw… a younger Axel. _… A-Axel!?_ Roxas kept staring dumbly at the younger Axel while he and a younger, no-scarred Saix stood by before the younger Axel came up to them.

"Hey, so… who are you two? My name's Lea, got it memorized?" The red head spoke cheerfully, sounding almost identical to his Nobody self. "And ya didn't answer my question- are you both twins?"

Roxas blinked at this. _L-Lea? … This is… this is definitely Axel's original self!_ Right now, the Nobody was resisting the urge to just stand up and hug him.

Ven answered since Roxas looked too… 'star struck' if that was the right word. "No, we're not twins…" He sighed, glancing away before Lea snatched his wooden Keyblade away. "H-hey!"

Lea chuckled, looking it over. "You still play with toy swords, kid? That's cute." Then he tossed it to the side, reaching into his bag. "Now _this_ right here… Ta da!" He pulled out a pair of Frisbees, hanging them loosely on his fingers. "What do ya think? Pretty cool, huh?"

Roxas finally snapped out of his little trance at seeing Axel's original self upon noticing the Frisbees. _… Axel… I wonder if he's doing okay…_ "... So you're Lea?" Roxas asked, standing up.

"Ah, so the other boy _can_ speak!" Lea smiled, nudging Roxas playfully. "Yeah, it's Lea- got it memorized?"

"Lea, we have to get going, we don't have time to waste here." Saix's younger and original self snapped.

"Oh come off it Isa, let me have a little fun." Lea rolled his eyes. "You can be such a stickler sometimes, sheesh…"

Roxas couldn't help but give a chuckle, murmuring softly, "... I hope things go well for you…"

Lea blinked at that before looking at the two with a smile once more. "Hey, what're your names, you two?"

"...I'm Ventus- this is Roxas… But why do you need to know?" Ven frowned, murmuring, "Not like we'll see each other again…"

Lea chuckled, nudging Ventus playfully. "Heh, whatever you say- but alright, Ventus, let's fight!"

"Fight? Why would I want to do that?" Ven frowned, growing confused. "I'm not really a fighter…"

Roxas chuckled as he looked over at his look alike, shrugging. "Why not? It'll be fun to have a small spar." _This must be what sparked a connection between Axel and myself… Maybe because I looked like Ven here, Axel became my best friend._

Lea nodded, grinning in excitement. "Yeah- besides, ya afraid to lose? C'mon!" He then jumped back, getting into a battle-ready stance. "Hope you're ready, you two- we're going for a battle royale!"

Roxas blinked, his eyes widening in surprise. "Wait… TWO? You mean ME too?" he asked in shock.

Lea chuckled, shrugging. "Yeah, why not? Or are you all bark and no bite? C'mon- show me what you've got, Roxas!"

"But I don't have anything to fight with!" Roxas quickly said. "I'll just watch!"

"Oh… Roxas, you can use this." Ven said as he threw a wooden sword he… got from his pocket.

Roxas blinked frowning as he looked it over. "Gee… thanks…" _This better not mess up the timeline!_ He picked it up, sighing. "Fine, we'll do a free-for-all." He gave a small grin, though.. He already knew Lea's moveset as Axel- this might be pretty fun…

The young Nobody, before he knew it, was having fun play fighting against Lea and Ven. It was a lot different to play fight than it was to actually battle, he's done this a few times in the virtual Twilight Town, but it felt nice to just take it easy and not have anything big on the line, other than pride.

Eventually, though, Lea dropped his Frisbees and fell on his butt, panting heavily. "Y-you… had enough?" he weakly asked. "Because I'm… willin' to… call it a draw if you are!"

Roxas looked over at Ven, who looked like he could still go on, but Roxas himself looked ready to drop from that small scuffle. _I need to fix this, and fast…_

Isa rolled his eyes as he said, crossing his arms. "You know, the only thing you've done was have a big fat 'L' print that stands for 'Loser', 'Lame' and 'Laughable'. You've got to step up your game, Lea."

The redhead's jaw dropped, glancing up at Isa with a bit of mock anger. "Wha- isn't this the part where ya… I dunno, cheer me up or something? You know, 'You're just having a bad day', or 'That's what you get for pulling your punches!' Sheesh, some friend here…"

"..." Roxas looked at Isa, frowning in confusion. _Saix was so… different… Yeah he's insulting Lea, but he's doing it good naturedly…_

"Oh, so you want me to_ lie_?" Isa smirked.

Lea rolled his eyes, chuckling a bit. "Sheesh, you see what I have to deal with here?" He smiled at Ven and Roxas, leaning back. "Sure hope ya don't have friends like _him_!"

Roxas gave Lea a smile back, really missing Axel right now, the only one in the Organization who cared. Ven gave a smile of his own, but for a different reason.

"Well, we'd better go now, Lea." Isa said, turning around. "We have to hurry after all."

Lea sighed but nodded. "Right." He stood up, poking both of them on the forehead. "Now… make sure you have my name memorized you two!"

Ven blinked, looking at the finger with crossed eyes before chuckling. "Right… It's Illegal, right?" Lea pouted, and Ven began to laugh. "Sorry, couldn't resist!" Then he frowned a bit. "...But you gotta go already? That sucks…"

"Hey, I'm sure we'll meet again!" Lea said with a smile.

Roxas nodded before he said, "... I'll see you again, Lea…" _And by that I mean your Nobody in 10 to 11 years._

Lea nodded, turning around and following Isa. "Yeah, see you around, Roxas, Ven."

Isa rolled his eyes, turning back to Lea with a mock irritation. "What is it with you and picking up stray puppies?"

Lea shrugged, smiling brightly. "Hey, I want to make sure every person I meet remembers me, that way I can live on in people's memories when I'm gone."

"I know I won't ever forget you- trust me, I try all the time." the blue haired boy said with a slight chuckle.

"Good, that means I'm immortal~" Lea laughed.

Roxas gave a sad smile, overhearing every word. _That's why he seemed so hurt when I didn't remember him in the digital Twilight Town… he wants to make sure everyone, especially his friends, remember him. And knowing that I didn't… that… must have hurt…but hey! It's not like I _asked_ to forget him!_

Ven smiled softly, muttering to himself, "Must be nice… knowin' who your friends are…" He glanced up at the sky longingly before looking over at Roxas. "Hey, uh… so you were saying beforehand? I might be doing something- what is it?"

Roxas blinked before looking at Ven, frowning a bit. "... Are we… friends, Ven? Like real friends or just… someone you tolerate?"

Ven blinked in surprise, but he sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "Well… you hid the fact that you have a Keyblade from me… but I guess I can understand- so yeah, we're friends. Not the _best_ of friends…" Then he smiled, putting a hand on Roxas's shoulder. "But you're the only one I have right now… so thanks for sticking by me."

Roxas sighed, nodding. "Yeah… I guess. And… Ven, you wouldn't do something to really hurt me on purpose, right?"

Ven frowned, easily nodding. "Yeah, of course! Why would I hurt the one person who's stuck by me and hasn't told me to go home, or just brushed me off?" He chuckled a bit, shrugging. "I'd have to be stupid to do _that_!"

The Nobody blinked before sighing. _Right… so he_ doesn't_ know then…_ "Well… that's good at least." He panted a bit as he was trying to regain his composure. "So… what do you… plan to do now?"

Ven sighed, shrugging. "I… dunno." he muttered softly, glancing up at the sky. "I don't want to go home… Not yet, at least- but… Maybe if I go to Disney Town, I'll have some time to cool off, ya know?"

"Oh… right… you still have the passes." Roxas said with a nod. "Well… I guess we could go…" he took a deep breath, wiping a bit of sweat from his forehead.

Ven looked at Roxas in concern, just now noticing Roxas's state "Are you… okay? You don't look so good, are you sick?"

Roxas gave him a small smile, shaking his head. "... I'm fine… probably just tired is all." _Until I find out how Ven is sapping my energy and how to stop it… I-I don't want him to know, it'd just make him feel worse…_

Ventus frowned in more concern, but he slowly nodded. "Well… alright, I guess…" He sighed, making his Keyblade Armor form. _I'm not sure what Roxas is hiding from me… but I'll let him tell me when he's comfortable… It'd just better not be too horrible…_"You coming?"

Roxas nodded as he held onto Ven's armor. "Let's… get going. To Disney Town…"

* * *

Ven frowned in concern, glancing back at Roxas. "Right… Maybe you should take a nap when we get there or something…"

"I'd rather not…" Roxas said with a frown. "But if I fall again, I may not survive a third time."

Ven paused at that, but he continued to fly in the right direction. "W-wait… You fell off twice!? And you _survived_!? The Lanes Between are pure darkness- it's why we wear armor!"

"... I guess that coat I wear keeps me safe from the darkness." Roxas answered. "... So how far is this Disney Town?"

Ven shrugged, glancing around a bit. "I'm not sure… It might take… I dunno- ten minutes to get there? It's probably not too far, if that Scrooge guy came from Disney Town himself…"

"Yeah, hopefully not…" Roxas said tiredly. _Because if I hang on to you any longer… I'm going to pass out._

Thankfully, before too long, the two look alike boys soon came to a fun looking world that looked like the passes. Ven quickly landed into the world known as Disney Town and dispelled his armor. Roxas almost fell, he wobbled as soon as they landed but quickly regain his composure. "S-sorry, must've tripped…"

Ven frowned, helping Roxas back on his feet. "I dunno, Roxas… Maybe you _should_ lay down for a bit…" _I want him to tell me on his own… but he looks like he's about to faint at any moment- completely different from before…_

Roxas just shook his head, now panting lightly. "I just have to walk it off… don't worry about me. Maybe… we should go our separate ways… you know, to… look around for a bit." _If I keep staying like 5 feet from you, I'm gonna pass out, at least I can have some time to recover a bit from this._

Ven hesitated, but he slowly nodded. "Alright, I guess…" Then he frowned, hastily adding, "B-but you'd better come back here in about… 4 hours- okay? I'll meet you here!"

"S-sure, that's… fine." Roxas nodded as he wasted no time to turn around and began walking away. _Whew… that was close…_

Not looking where he was going, the Nobody bumped into someone wearing… white tights? "Wah?" He blinked in shock at that. "Who the heck…?"

"Hey! Watch where you- I mean careful there! You should always watch where you're going!" A big fat… cat… thing in a giant suit said.

Roxas blinked at the big fat cat thing wearing white and red tights with a cape. "... Uh… Hi-"

"I am Captain JUSTICE! I'm here to help those in need and in trouble! So… what do you need help with, huh?" the… cat thing said, calling himself Captain Justice.

Roxas blinked, any way he looked at it, this 'Captain Justice' looks like a big poser. "Uh…"

"You look like you're about halfway dead… I know! Let Captain Justice slap you awake!" 'Captain Justice' said with enthusiasm and raised his huge hand.

Roxas jumped and quickly said, "No! No! I don't need any smacking, okay? I'm… uh… Ah, why don't you tell me about this place?"

"... What? That's it?" 'Captain Justice' said with a grumble. "Well, fine. This here is the festival held by Queen Minnie herself- it's all about fun and games, but watch out, you may never know where danger lurks, and that's when Captain Justice comes to save the day!"

"... Right…" Roxas wasn't really sure what to say to this. "Uh… thanks… I guess…"

The big cat grinned, posing confidently. "And don't you forget that _Captain Justice_ is the one who solved all your problems- that's justice with a J! So don't forget ta vote for him!"

"... Uh… vote?" Roxas asked, frowning in confusion. _What's he mean by that?_

"Oh never you mind. If you don't have any other problems, Captain Justice is going out to find more troubles!" And with that, the strange guy ran off somewhere.

"... What a weird guy." Roxas said to himself, sweatdropping. But the Nobody sighed in relief as he felt his energy returning, he was feeling so much better. "... That's more like it…" _But if I don't tell Ven about this… he's going to keep sucking me dry without knowing… What should I do? I don't want to hurt his feelings… but…_

* * *

Then Roxas's head perked up, hearing someone complaining nearby. "Oh darn it all! If these balloons don't get hung soon, this is going to be a much less festive town than it should be…"

The Nobody looked over to see it… looked like a female duck wearing a fancy purple dress. _Huh… She looks very similar to Donald._ Curious now, Roxas approached her, cautiously tapping her shoulder. "Uh… Excuse me, do you need some help, miss?"

"Hmm?" The duck turned and smiled at Roxas politely. "M-may I help you, young man? Are you looking for someone, perhaps?" Despite her polite tone, Roxas noticed a slight tremor in her voice, and her eye was twitching.

Roxas gave her a nervous smile. _If she IS anything like Donald, then she must have a short temper too, maybe even shorter considering she's… well… a girl. _"I was just wondering… You look like you could use some help- not that you're not… you know, doing a good job, just that… maybe you'd _like_ some help?"

The duck quickly shook her head, giving a slightly strained smile now. "N-no, no, it's fine, although I appreciate your help young man! I am Lady Daisy- and what's your name?"

"... I'm Roxas, it's nice to meet you Lady Daisy." Roxas said as politely as he could, remembering the Queen of Hearts back in Wonderland and how bad of a temper she had.

Lady Daisy smiled at him before turning back to the balloons and her mood soured a bit as she huffed slightly. "Now if only I could get these balloons in the right places…" she muttered to herself, putting her hands on her hips. "I swear, 'Captain Justice' is putting too much work into getting votes instead of actually helping!"

"Captain Justice isn't helping you with this?" Roxas frowned. "He seemed pretty eager to help anyone in need…"

Lady Daisy sighed, shaking her head. "His real name is Pete, and no, if it looks hard or takes a lot of effort, he won't do it."

"... Really? He seemed disappointed when I gave him an easy task." Roxas said, crossing his arms in a bit of annoyance. _So in other words… nothing we give him will satisfy him._

Lady Daisy gave a small frown as she then added, "Not to mention he's the one who put all the balloons in one spot- apparently it'll make this area more festive… But it's not just this one area that needs to be more festive! Honestly, I can't believe that guy sometimes!"

Roxas remembered that time in the digital Twilight Town, where he had to get a quick job to make some munny for the beach, which never happened, and one of the jobs were to set up the posters for the Struggle Tournament all over town. As he thought of that situation, this gave the Nobody an idea. "Hey, if it's alright with you, Lady Daisy, maybe I could put up those balloons where they should go?"

The duck blinked in surprise before smiling happily. "Oh my, you would do that Roxas? I would _love _to have some help with these balloons!" Then she frowned a bit, sighing. "But… are you sure you're up to the task? A bunch of these balloons are to be placed along roofs and other tough to reach spots…"

"I can do it, I've done something like this before too, so no need to worry." Roxas said with a wink.

"Well… alright, here, and try not to pop or lose them." Daisy said as she handed the boy the balloons.

"Thanks!" Roxas smiled as he found a nearby skateboard. "Hmmm…" The Nobody got on the skateboard and began going, he did some tricks as he tied up the balloons in their proper areas.

As the Nobody continued to breeze along, Daisy's jaw dropped at how fast Roxas was going. _Oh my…! How is he so fast? This is practically a town record- I've NEVER seen anybody put up balloons so fast, especially without losing or popping any!_

In about three minutes flat, Roxas finished hanging all the balloons in their proper places and he skateboard back to Daisy before stopping and getting off. "Well? Did I do good?"

Daisy had her beak wide in shock as she looked around slowly. "...I- t-that is…" She took a moment to regain her composure before she smiled brightly. "That was incredible, Roxas- you just completed it in less than 3 minutes when it would normally take over an hour!"

Roxas gave a small smile, blushing a bit in embarrassment. "Heh, well this was a bit easier than back home, at least I had a skateboard here."

Daisy smiled, before she perked up again. "Hey… do you think you could help me with one more thing?"

"Sure, what is it?" Roxas felt so full of energy now. _It's odd, really- I suddenly feel like I can do absolutely anything!_

The female duck chuckled at his enthusiasm, it was like he was a little kid on sugar rush. "Well, there are some monsters going around town attacking some of the townsfolk, I was hoping maybe you could clean them up before something really bad happens?"

Roxas nodded, pumping his fist confidently. "Sure, they shouldn't be too ha-"

"Now! Now! Let Captain Justice take care of these so-called monsters! I'm sure kids these days just like causing trouble for everyone." Captain Justice, or Pete, said as he came running over to them, obviously thinking 'monsters' meant 'children'.

Lady Daisy scowled, turning to Pete in irritation. "Pete, you no-good scoundrel! This young man is doing what you _claim_ to do better! So why don't you just run along and keep playing pretend while Roxas here actually helps keep our town _festive_, hmm!? I swear, sometimes you're worse than Donald!"

Roxas blinked at hearing the name, but that was all the reaction he showed to the familiar name as Pete frowned. "Hmph! I'll show you I can do better!"

Roxas watched him go running off into town… only to come back running a few minutes later, screaming, "Waaah! No way, are you crazy? I'm not risking my life for this!" Pete snapped at Daisy as he kept going.

"... For a fat cat, he sure can run." Roxas chuckled.

Daisy sighed in irritation, rubbing her forehead with her left wing. "And now you see how irritating he can be on a daily basis… Pete always causes trouble- but it's always worse during these festivals, because we give out prizes at the end of each day…"

"Prizes?" Roxas asked, blinking in surprises. _I didn't know there were prizes… That's interesting…_

"Yes." someone else said, walking over to them, it looked like a mouse with a crown and a pink dress. "You see, the one who gets the most votes will get the Million Dreams Award, and I'm afraid Pete's only doing this to get his hands on the prize."

The Nobody frowned at this before sighing with a shrug. "Selfish, but I guess there are people like him around. Now… I'm going to go see if I can clean up the town of these monsters." Roxas winked at them as he head into town.

The mouse blinked, turning to Daisy. "Daisy… who was that? I saw a boy just like him a few minutes ago, talking to the Duck nephews and made some ice cream!"

Daisy blinked, surprised. "Really? Well he said his name was Roxas."

"Roxas… The other boy I met was named Ventus." the mouse said in wonder.

"I guess they're twins, kind of like how you and Mickey look alike, Queen Minnie." Daisy winked.

Roxas chuckled to himself as he heard the conversation before going out of earshot. The Nobody soon saw a lot of these… animal people screaming as they were being chased by Unversed. "Oh man, they're here too?" The Nobody grumbled as he summoned the Kingdom Key. "Oh well, it's as good time as any to brush up on my skills."

* * *

With that said, he easily charged at the first Unversed, beginning to smack away at it. "Hyah! C'mon, that all you got!?" Roxas still felt as energized as he could be, easily making the Unversed disappear. "Who's next?"

"HELP!" someone suddenly screamed. "I'M BEING ATTACKED, SOMEONE HELP MEEEE!"

Roxas looked over to see it was another duck, a much bigger duck than Donald or Daisy, or even Scrooge. "Hang on mister!" The Nobody quickly jumped and striked at the Unversed and it disappeared. "Are you okay?"

The big duck blinked before looking at his savior. "Oh thank you!" He shook the Nobody's hand quickly. "I thought I was a goner for sure!"

"O-oh uh, it was no problem, sir!" Roxas said as his body trembled a bit from the rough shake. "Uh… what's your name?"

The big duck saluted, and Roxas just noticed he was wearing an aviator's helmet. "The name's Launchpad McQuack, best pilot in Disney Town! What's your name?"

"I'm Roxas! Uh… nice to meet you, Launchpad." Roxas said, introducing himself. _What kind of name is 'Launchpad'?_ "Anyway, I'm glad you're safe, but I have to go, there's still more I have to clean up."

The duck nodded happily, shaking Roxas's hand roughly again. "Well thanks again, Mr. Roxy! I'd better help gettin' everybody else outta here while you do your job!"

Roxas nodded, giving a slightly awkward smile. "Sure, heh, you do that." Launchpad took off. "... What a weird guy." The rest of the process was pretty easy since the Unversed were pretty weak here, and before he knew it, the Nobody was done.

"Whew, looks like that's over with." Roxas smiled to himself .

"Wow, you did better than I thought!" Roxas jumped when he heard Queen Minnie behind him.

"O-oh… uh, you really think so, uh, your Majesty?" Roxas said a bit awkwardly, he had a faint memory of a 'King Mickey', and this Queen Minnie looks pretty similar to him.

Queen Minnie nodded, smiling happily. "Why, of course- you were able to defeat those monsters like they were hand puppets! And you even kept everybody safe while doing it- thank you _very_ much!"

Roxas couldn't help but blush a bit as he rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, well you know… they weren't too hard and it's nice to help people." _Yeah, it really does feel nice, even though I don't have a heart…_

"Would you and Ven like to stay for the Million Dreams Award? We're going to announce the winner in about ten minutes." Queen Minnie asked the Nobody.

Roxas smiled as he nodded, leaning back a bit and putting his hands behind his head. "Sure, why not?"

As if on cue, Roxas heard a familiar voice calling to him. "Roxas!" Ven rushed over, smiling happily. "This place is a blast- I even helped with making three ice cream cones! Here, I got one for you!" He held out… a single ice cream cone with what seemed like a million scoops on top of it!

"... O_O' U-uh… Ven, that was nice, but… d-don't you think that's a bit too much?" Roxas said with a sweatdrop. _I mean I know I eat a lot of sea salt ice cream, but THIS is ridiculous! I'd DIE if I eat all this!_

Ven blinked, pausing from his own humongous ice cream cone! "Uh… no, not really- it's really delicious, and it's actually easy to pack away…" He smiled, holding out the cone to Roxas. "Go ahead, try it a bit!"

"... Hehehehe…" Roxas sweatdropped even more. _Oh great… now what do I do…?_

Nine minutes later… the streets were literally filled with ice cream. Ven was a bit ticked off at his look alike. "You didn't have to spill EVERY. SINGLE. SCOOP."

"I didn't spill it… All I said was 'FREE ICE CREAM EVERYONE' and they all kinda charged at me and made me drop it." Roxas said with a nervous chuckle. _I REALLY didn't expect them to charge at me like that- not my smartest plan…_

Ven huffed, rolling his eyes. "You'd better _think_ next time, Roxas- it was really good too, I made it just for us…" He sighed a bit, sitting on a single spot _not_ covered in ice cream. _If only Terra and Aqua were here- they'd be able to try it too…_

"Hey, I did manage to save two scoops…" Roxas said as he held out the cone, and indeed, there were two flavors left, one raspberry and the other vanilla. "If you want, we can eat these…"

Ven glanced up at Roxas, "..." He smiled slightly, shrugging. "Well… I guess so… Thanks Roxas…"

The boys chuckled as they began licking the ice cream away. Then they heard Queen Minnie make an announcement over the speaker. "Will everyone please gather to the center of town? We are going to announce the winner of the Million Dreams Award!"

Roxas looked over and said with a small grin, "Hey Ven, let's see who won before we hit the Realms, what do you say?"

Ven blinked in surprise before he nodded, smiling. "Heh.. Sure, why not? I'd like to see how this turns out- maybe Huey, Dewey, and Louie won the award…"

The Nobody shrugged as they gathered to the center… only for Pete to bump into them and caused them to drop their ice cream cones! "Wah!"

"Move aside, I've got an award to get!" Pete said rudely as he kept going, like he didn't care he just bumped them.

Roxas frowned at that, crossing his arms in annoyance. "Hmph- rude much?" He grumbled, glancing at Ven. "C'mon, let's get closer to see who won!"

But Ven was still staring at the dropped ice cream, frowning in dismay. "... That was… our last cone!"

"... Ven… it's okay, we can always get more later." Roxas said, hoping to calm him down. "The ice cream machine is free anyway, right?"

Ven sighed, but he slowly nodded. "Yeah… I guess you're right…" He perked up a bit, but he still seemed upset about what had happened. "C'mon- let's get a bit closer, what do you say?"

The two boys made it to the center, where there was a stage. The townsfolk were all gathered there too, including Pete and Launchpad. And on stage, Roxas smiled to see Queen Minnie and Lady Daisy beside her.

Queen Minnie smiled as she began her speech, "Now, you have all done very well in the festival this year, and I am happy to see it was a success and went without too much of a hitch."

"Hmph, just skip to where you say my name." Pete grumbled from the back impatiently.

The queen continued, "Now without further ado, I will announce the winner of the Million Dreams Award." she took the letter from Daisy, and she opened it. "Oh my goodness, we have multiple winners this year! The winners are; Terra, Aqua, Ven and Roxas!"

Everyone cheered loudly as they celebrated. Roxas was shocked while Ven was happier than a child on Christmas morning. "That's great! When were Terra and Aqua here?" He grinned at Roxas, fist pumping. "Well, either way, I can't believe it- we actually _won_!"

"... We… WON? … But we_ just got here_… a-and I thought there could only be _one_ winner." Roxas kept blinking as if this whole thing was surreal.

Of course, this angered Pete as he shoved them out of his way, storming onstage. "Out of my way! What do you mean by that!? You better re-count those votes, because I know everyone voted for Captain Justice, I've made sure of it!" Instead, all he heard was crickets. "Uh… w-what about the rogue racer, Captain Dark!?" Still crickets.

Queen Minnie glared at him, crossing her arms in slight irritation. "The votes were all taken and carefully counted for, it was no mistake Pete." Pete was trembling in anger as the Queen continued, her glare warming into a small smile. "But you did get a few votes, because the people were happy that you helped and take care of them when they needed it."

But this didn't please Pete at all, it was win or no votes at all in his book. "I don't need their lousy votes, just cough up my prize!" And with that, he reached out towards her.

"PETE!" Both Queen Minnie and Lady Daisy snapped, stopping him. "I've been tolerant of you, but this is going too far! How dare you cast their votes away like they were nothing to you. It's time you learn your lesson, Pete. GUARDS!"

Roxas tensed up, but he blinked in surprise upon seeing… _brooms_ walking up to Pete. _…Are you serious!? The… the guards in this place are _brooms_? What's next, a bucket is the secretary?_

The brooms walked up to Pete and picked him up without any problems, Pete yelled as he struggled angrily. "Hey! Let me go! I deserved that award!"

* * *

Queen Minnie sighed as the Brooms took Pete away and she turned back to the audience, "I apologize for that… Anyway, will the winners please come up?"

Ven smirked as he gave a playful elbow to Roxas, who looked at him awkwardly. "Come on, don't tell me you have stage fright."

"I-I don't…" Roxas frowned as he blushed in embarrassment. "It's just…" _What if somebody checks the records of this year's award winners? I don't want to be shown in the record!_

Ven chuckled, pulling Roxas up onstage. "C'mon, it'll be alright- besides, we shouldn't keep them waiting!"

Ven had to keep dragging the reluctant Nobody up to the stage, who really wished he hadn't given them his name.

Queen Minnie smiled to them, giving a happy nod. "I'm so proud of you two. Unfortunately it seems the other winners couldn't make it here, so Ven and Roxas will have to take the prize in their stead."

Ven blinked in surprise before he pouted. "What? Aww… I was hoping they were here too… But I guess they both already left…"

"Uh… excuse me… Your Majesty… I appreciate it, really I do, but… can you please not put my name down in the record? … I have my reasons." Roxas said to her with big, puppy dog eyes.

Queen Minnie blinked in surprise at that, as did Daisy beside her. "Oh my, are you sure?" The Nobody hastily nodded. "Well… I suppose if you want, we don't have to make note of your achievement- but we'll always remember you both!" Then she pulled out two bowls of ice cream. "And as an extra bonus, we made something special- an ice cream flavor just for you both! Double crunch ice cream for Ven, and chocolate and vanilla swirl for Roxas."

"Wow, fancy." Roxas said as he looked at the ice creams. Ven's had a mouse chocolate hat on his pink ice cream with two chocolate Keyblade shapes on the side. Roxas's ice cream also had a mouse hat, but this one was blue candy, and he had a big chocolate X in the front and a candy Keyblade in the back.

The two look alikes took their respective ice creams while the audience watched them, wanting them to taste it. Both Roxas and Ven nodded to each other, "Well, looks like we get our ice cream after all." Roxas chuckled to him.

Ven nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I guess so- c'mon, let's dig in!" And with that, both Keyblade Wielders took a few bites of their ice cream. Although Roxas loved the sea-salt ice cream, this one was pretty dang good too! "Whoa! This is so good!"

"Yeah, same here!" Ven smiled, tasting it again. "...Mmm, wow- it's amazing!"

Queen Minnie chuckled at that, nodding to them gratefully. "I'm glad you two boys like it."

"I guess it's a good thing we came here today." Roxas said a smile, seeing Ven looking a lot better since what happened in Radiant Garden.

Ven nodded, giving a bright grin. "Yeah, I guess so- I wish the two of them were here to take their ice cream too… but…" He shrugged. "I still enjoyed coming here!"

"You two, along with Terra and Aqua, are always welcomed here." Queen Minnie said to them as they nodded.

After they stepped down and Queen Minnie finished up her speech, Roxas just finished his ice cream before he thought about the whole energy draining issue- he felt fine now but if he keeps sticking with Ven, he might not be able to stand by the time they face another Unversed. "... Hey, uh… Ven…" he started, not sure if he should tell him.

The blond blinked, glancing over at Roxas in surprise. "Hmm? What is it, Roxas?" He smiled, holding a small trophy. "I'm sorry- just… I'm still shocked about the fact that we all won!"

Roxas bit his lip, he really didn't want to rain down on his look alike's parade, but if he didn't tell him now then it could end up fatal to him. Unlike with Axel, Ven has a heart and it could be hurt easily. "Listen… I don't want you to take this the wrong way… but… Well I know we're friends, maybe not the best, but we are friends and no matter what, I know you would never do anything to hurt me on purpose." he started, getting Ven's attention.

Ven blinked at that, before he slowly put down the trophy. "Uh… yeah, of course I wouldn't… so what's this about?" _Is this about whatever Roxas is hiding? …A-am I hurting him!?_

Roxas noticed the troubled look on his look alike's face, and he hastily said, "N-now it's nothing too serious, okay? It's just… um… when Vanitas grabbed your head during our battle he… somehow… made it to where you… you can… sap away my energy whenever I'm near you." he said that last part quickly, like ripping off a band aid.

Ven's eyes widened in shock, and his jaw nearly dropped. "W-what!? I'm… sapping your energy?" _Is that why I'm suddenly feeling so much stronger!? _he groaned. "Oh my… I-I… what've I done?"

The Nobody frowned, he knew Ven might've taken it hard but… he didn't think the boy would feel _this_ guilty! Thankfully they were alone in the corner of town since everyone else was too busy partying back in the center. "It's fine, Ven! Really! You just-"

Ven shook his head, quickly stopping Roxas. "I… I didn't mean to do that! I… was _that_ why you looked so beat up and tired? I…" _If Roxas hadn't told me, h-he could have died! ...Heck… if I don't find a way to stop it… he could _still_ die from me draining all his energy!_

"VENTUS!" Roxas shouted as he grabbed the boy's shoulders, not caring that more of his energy was being sapped by doing this. "Listen to me! I know you can stop it Ven, unlike Xi… Xi… s-someone else I knew… _you_ can control it and you can stop it! You just have to figure out how, okay?" _That was weird… I didn't know anyone like that… Why did I say 'Xi' for?_

Ven frowned worriedly, but he sighed. "I… r-right…" He slowly nodded. "I just… have to figure out how…" _But… how long will that be? Will I figure it out too late?_

Roxas sighed before he spoke up,patting his look alike's shoulder reassuringly. "Okay, Ven, just relax. I'm not entirely sure how it works, but… I think… Hmm… I do notice a pattern here, I think your… 'ability' is tied to your emotions… When you were happy, I didn't feel as drained as before, but when you were sad, troubled, angry or guilty, I felt so much weaker so quickly. It's possible the more negative your emotions are the stronger the sapping gets."

Ven gulped at that, but he took a deep breath. "I… r-right… So negative emotions don't help either of us… I-I got it…" He looked a bit nervously at Roxas. "I don't know how well I'll do… b-but I'll try to not hurt you, I promise!"

"No, no, you shouldn't bottle up your emotions like that." Roxas said. "It won't work… but I was just giving you a possibility of how it works, so maybe you can find a way to, I don't know, turn it off?" Then Roxas thought of something. "I know, why don't you try mind over matter? Wish, with every part of your being, that you do not want to hurt or sap my strength away!"

Ven blinked at that before he nodded. "R-right!" He closed his eyes and began to wish… he wished harder than he had ever wished before, squeezing his fists tightly. _I don't want to hurt Roxas anymore… he's my friend, not my energy source, so stop it! STOP IT! No more sucking away my friend's energy like a leech! ENOUGH!_

Roxas blinked as he suddenly felt tingly before… it stopped. The tiredness didn't increase rapidly anymore, and he began feeling better. "Hey, I think it worked!" Ven's eyes quickly flew open and he saw Roxas smiling in relief. "You did it, Ven!" he suddenly hugged his look alike!

Ven blinked in surprise before his eyes began to tear up, and he hugged Roxas back tightly. "I-I… I did it… Roxas, I-I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to…" He trailed off, sniffing a bit.

"... Ven, it's okay… I know you didn't do it on purpose. But… maybe this could be a good thing, maybe if it's necessary, I could lend you some of my power, but only if you don't totally suck me dry." Roxas said with a shrug, but then he saw Ven's face. "... Or you know, we can just forget about it completely."

Ventus gulped, quickly nodding. "Y-yeah… that's… That's a smart idea…" _Vanitas… he's responsible for this- to… to think he nearly made me kill Roxas… I won't forgive him!_

Roxas sighed before he looked up, giving a weak smile. "Well… shall we get going? I'm not sure what you plan to do, Ven, don't you want to go back home or at least look for Terra or Aqua?"

Ven sighed, looking down before glancing up at Roxas again, a fire in his eyes. "I… Roxas, I need to get stronger. I think they don't believe I can handle it- that I'm too weak. Well… what if I train somewhere?" he smiled a bit. "Maybe… I can work with them, and get back at Vanitas for what he's done!"

Roxas nodded, smiling. "Yeah, good idea, maybe we can train together, you could show me some of your moves and I could show you some of mine! Do you know any place like that? I've heard there's a world that has a coliseum that trains 'heroes in the making'." _Ugh… That Phil was such a pain… I guess we're going back there, maybe he's not so bad 11 years ago._

Ven smiled at that, shaking his head. "That sounds like a good place- I don't know anywhere else, so let's get going!" he then glanced down at the trophy with a small frown. "...You know… I'm not sure where to put this…"

"Oh, just put it in your pocket." Roxas shrugged. "... Didn't you know you could fit a lot of things in your pocket? It's weird, right?"

Ven blinked at that, whistling lowly. "Wow… Even stuff that you can't normally fit?" his surprised expression slowly changed to a thoughtful one. "You know… I wonder if you could fit a tent in your pocket- I've got to try that sometime…"

"... Um… you actually could… uh… let's not try that right now, though." Roxas sweatdropped at the thought of it. "Um… come on, let's get to that world I mentioned."

Ven nodded at that, grinning. "Right- let's go!" he summoned his armor, quickly making the circle in the sky appear.

Roxas then took his hand, allowing the armor on him and jumped on the glider, before the two boys flew out into the Realms of Between once more, heading to the Olympus Coliseum.

* * *

Roxas was a lot more relieved now that Ven wasn't subconsciously sucking away his energy. Still… _I wonder why he was able to do that with only_ me_ in the first place… maybe it's because we _do_ share some kind of connection- but still…_

Soon, they arrived at Olympus Coliseum… At least, Roxas _thought_ it was Olympus Coliseum- everything looked completely different. There was a huge mountain that broke through the clouds, a giant town below it… It looked nothing like what Roxas was familiar with, and it was completely different from when Sora visited it.

_This must be the Olympus Coliseum 10 years in the past._ Roxas thought to himself. _Looks… really different._

Ven looked around as they landed, frowning in thought. "Hmm… So I guess we go in and register for the games?"

"Yeah, I think that's how we do it." Roxas nodded.

Before either boys could move on, though, a strange and chubby, half man, half goat was running for cover somewhere and seems to be hiding. Roxas blinked, recognizing him as this chubby little goat man who put him through such harsh training! Not to mention Demyx really, really hated this guy.

The goat groaned, muttering to himself. "Geez… The kid's relentless- how many times is he gonna follow me around and find me today!?"

Roxas stood frozen as memories of this guy filled his head, not because the memory was painful for him, but because this guy trained him so hard into the ground that it really does hurt just _thinking_ about it. _If he tries to train me again, I'm bolting. Ven can train all he wants, I'm not going to be a part of it._

Ven, however, had no such issues, and he tapped the guy's shoulder. "Hey, whatcha doin' there?"

To both of their surprise, the goat man suddenly yelped, before he quickly turned around. "I _told_ ya! I'm booked solid! N-O spells forget it! ...Huh? Who in Halicarnassus are you two? Am I seein' double or something? I'm busy!"

Roxas hissed as he grabbed Ven's arm. "What are you doing? This guy would-"

"PHIIIIIL!" someone suddenly shouted. A much younger Hercules was running over. "I'm all signed up! PHIIIIIIL!"

"Shh! Be quiet, can't you see I'm hiding?" Phil snapped at him.

"... Hiding from whom?" Roxas asked, blinking in confusion, he never knew Phil would be the type to run and hide from someone.

Then someone from behind them suddenly shouted, "Aha!" He rushed up to them, all decked out in armor and wearing an iron helmet. "Look, 'fess up already- I asked around and _everybody_ says _you're_ the guy. Trainer of heroes! C'mon Phil, _pleeeeease_! I really wanna be a hero!"

Roxas looked at this guy in shock, his jaw dropping. _Whoa… who's this guy? I've never seen him before._

"Look, I really would love to kid, but I'm booked already." Phil said, grumbling mostly. "And ya wanna know why? Two words- student-teacher ratio! I've already got my hands full with this one!"

Ven blinked at that, before holding up his fingers. "Wait… uh… One… two… uh…." _That's three words, not two…_

Roxas crossed his arms, whispering to Ven, "Phil can't count, so just forget it."

"But I promise you won't regret it and I'll work extra hard!" the boy said quickly, almost begging. "C'mon, please! I'm low-maintenance, I swear!"

Roxas had to give him credit; the guy's pretty enthusiastic. "Well Ven? Didn't you say you wanted to train too?"

Ven frowned, shrugging. "Well… yeah, but I wanted to do it on my own- in the games, you know? I don't really need a trainer, especially one who's already busy…"

Roxas shrugged as they missed what Phil said to the boy. "Well we still need to ask him where the registrations are, right- Wah!?" He jumped when he felt Vanitas's darkness nearby… and suddenly, they were surrounded by a horde of Unversed! "W-wha!?"

"Unversed!" Ven frowned, summoning his Wayward Wind and rushing forward to protect Phil. "C'mon Roxas, we'd better get to work!"

The helmet-wearing boy grinned confidently, rushing forward. "I'll help too- I'll show you what I'm made of, Phil!"

Hercules nodded, getting into a battle-ready stance. "Yeah- and I'll help too!"

Hercules was a lot slower than he was in the future, Roxas noted, as he takes too long to wind up his punches and sometimes loses his balance after he strikes. The helmet boy was doing pretty well though, he strikes fast and hard. Ven seems to be the most effective out of the three since he's used to fighting Unversed. Roxas himself… well, he's looking for Vanitas in the crowd really.

_I felt him… he was nearby… where'd he go? Did he just come here to flood us with Unversed? Why the heck would he do that?_ Roxas frowned as he hit an Unversed with his Kingdom Key.

Finally, though, Hercules defeated the last Unversed, panting heavily. "Phew… Heheh…" he sighed in relief, leaning back slightly. _Man, that was tough!_

"..." Phil groaned, taking a deep breath. _Well, there's only one way to fix this… _"Okay, change of plans- the Games are comin' up. So I'm gonna watch both your matches, _then_ I'll decide which rookie I'm gonna train. Got it?"

The helmet-wearing boy cheered happily. "SWEET! Thank you, _thank you_! I'm gonna go sign up _right_ now!" And with that, he began running up the stairs.

"Come on Ven, we better sign up too!" Roxas said to his look alike, not sure why he felt excited about this… maybe it was the Sora in him?

"Yeah!" Ven smiled, beginning to run towards the Coliseum too.

Phil spoke up, stopping them, "Wait a minute now, I'm sorry but the games are all filled up. Captain Eager there just took the last spot."

"Are you kidding me? There shouldn't be a limit to the rosters!" Roxas snapped, growling in irritation.

Phil shrugged. "Well then, clearly ya don't know how tournaments work! They have a set number of slots to fit in, and those who get in get the spot first!"

Hercules stammered a bit, frowning worriedly. "P-Phil, I don't understand- I thought you were_ my _trainer!"

Phil sighed, glancing back at Hercules with a stony expression. "You wanna be a true hero, Herc? Then you're gonna have to go out there and show that everything I've taught you so far is gonna pay off! And no more training sessions for a while, okay? Wouldn't be fair if I helped _you_ and not him!"

Roxas crossed his arms, frowning. He really wanted to try his skills in the games… he doesn't know why he does, he just does, and he never really did back when he was in the Organization, due to having to return to the castle after every mission. This irks him. _I'll find a way to get into the games._ Somehow, Sora's mischief has infected Roxas here, or maybe it was Ven who was rubbing off of him.

Meanwhile, Ven turned to Hercules, smiling. "Hey, cheer up man! So you gotta fight a couple of matches- no big deal. My name's Ventus- want me to help you train?" _I might be able to train as well if I do!_

"Really? You'll help me out? By the way, I'm Hercules, you can call me Herc for short." Hercules said, smiling happily.

Ventus chuckled, glancing over to the Nobody. "You coming Roxas?" he asked his look alike.

"Actually, I want to check something out, so you two go ahead." Roxas said to them as he walked into the stadium by himself.

The Nobody didn't hear what Ven or Hercules said, but he didn't care right now. Roxas did want to join the games, but… "... Maybe I'm just being stupid, why should I join it anyway? I don't want to get my name in the record…"

* * *

Roxas sensed some darkness nearby, before he heard someone come up behind him. "Roxas!?"

"WAH!" Roxas jumped at Terra's voice. "T-T-Terra?!" he yelped, spinning around to see the brown-haired man behind him.

Terra frowned a bit, crossing his arms in irritation. "So you didn't head home?" he sighed. "Roxas, you and Ven shouldn't be out here- it's dangerous, especially with Vanitas on the loose! You know what Master Xehanort said…"

"Well he's after Ventus, not me- and besides, I think Vanitas can tell the difference between me and Ven. Anyway… uh… what are you doing here, Terra?" Roxas asked, mostly to change the subject so he wouldn't have to answer why he was here, and he's sure Ven wouldn't want Terra to know he was here either.

"..." Terra sighed, glancing away. "You… you don't want to know, Roxas- just know that I'm competing in the Games. But you didn't answer my question- why are you here?" his gaze focused back on Roxas as he frowned. "As far as I know, the rounds are full- and you don't even have a weapon!"

Roxas crossed his arms and said, frowning a bit, "... Well… I came here for training too. I want to be able to defend myself… and maybe help you and Aqua out?"

Terra frowned even more at that, shaking his head. "No, Roxas- go home! You're not strong enough to fight off Vanitas, and I already said you don't even have a weapon to use! If you want to grow stronger, head back to the Land of Departure and ask to be Master Eraqus's student! I'm sure he'd be _glad_ to teach you…" he sounded a bit bitter at the end, glancing to the side.

This honestly surprised Roxas, "... What? You think Eraqus would train an outsider like me? …" Roxas sighed, remembering how Terra looked when Aqua told him about Eraqus's orders- it was the look of betrayal, something Roxas knows all too well, having the Organization betraying him. "... Terra, look, I can hold my own, okay? But you have to give me a chance to prove it to you."

Terra frowned in confusion at that, glancing back at Roxas. "...Huh? What do you mean by that, Roxas? What're you hiding from me?" he frowned, darkness beginning to surround his hand before he gasped and quickly dispelled it. _N-no! Ugh… I have to conquer the darkness in my heart before I grow angry and hurt someone by accident again!_

_I knew it, that darkness I was sensing _was_ Terra! … His darkness is growing…_ Roxas thought to himself. _That's not good… _"Who said I was hiding anything from you? I just said to give me a chance to prove myself."

Terra sighed, rubbing his head in a bit of aggravation. "Ugh… And how would you prove yourself, Roxas? I'll be honest- I don't even think you could beat a basic Unversed without a strong weapon, you said back at the Land of Departure that you never fought before!"

Roxas sighed and said, reluctantly nodding, "... Yeah, I suppose you're right. As a kid who lived in Twilight Town, hanging out with friends and trying to make the most out of his last seven days of Summer Vacation and the only real fighting experience I had was the Struggle Tournament, I wouldn't be able to do much against such enemies…" By this, Roxas was referring to his fake life in the digital Twilight Town.

Terra nodded, crossing his arms with a faint frown. "I know you want to be strong, Roxas… but you need to train first- in fact, I don't think you could defeat me if I didn't use my Keyblade!"

"Oh really? Are you that confident?" Roxas crossed his arms, but he decided to drop it, no need to cause an unwanted argument here. "Fine, fine, I won't do anything dangerous." _Not anything you'd know anyway._

Terra frowned a bit, but he sighed. "...Whatever- are you going to stay around here for a bit?" Roxas nodded at that. "Well… I suppose you could watch my matches then- at least so you understand more about how I fight without having to be in harm's way."

Roxas crossed his arms, frowning in thought. "... Well… I guess I could, but… the stands are full and the game tickets are sold out, I don't think I can." Roxas didn't know that for sure though, the reason why he said this was because he sensed Vanitas was nearby again and he wanted to find him before Vanitas finds Ven.

Terra frowned again, reluctantly nodding. "Well… if you can't watch, I suppose that's alright… just stick around here, alright? I'll bring you back myself when I'm done with my matches."

Roxas shrugged as Terra had to go into the arena now, giving the Nobody the time that he needed to find Vanitas. Looking around, Roxas made sure nobody else was near as he took out his black coat, hoping to use it to keep Terra from finding out at the very least. Putting it on, Roxas concealed his face once more with the hood before he followed where the darkness was.

As Roxas snuck around a corner, he noticed Vanitas and quickly ducked behind the corner again. The masked boy didn't notice him, thankfully, as he chuckled darkly, summoning Unversed after Unversed. "You know what to do! Now get to it- cause havoc in this stupid town!"

Roxas's eyes widen from under the hood as he saw this, this was his first time seeing someone summoning the Unversed. _So… the Unversed… they all come from HIM? That's… pretty disturbing, actually- it'd be like if all the Nobodies came from Xemnas… I'm glad I'm not an Unversed. _He shuddered at the mental image, taking a step back and accidentally knocking a can away.

Vanitas's head perked up, and he glanced over at the corner. "Who's there!?" he called out with a frown.

Roxas mentally cursed at the can. _Who drops a freaking can right in the middle of a stadium anyway!? It's not like they're short on TRASH CANS!_The Nobody grumbled, seeing as he had no choice but to walk out from the corner. "... Looks like we keep running into each other, eh Vanitas?"

Vanitas huffed. "I guess so, Roxas." Then he began to chuckle darkly. "You know… I've been looking for you again." he smirked under his mask, pulling out his Keyblade. "I'm curious… Who's stronger- you or Terra?"

Roxas frowned from under his hood, crossing his arms suspiciously. "... What? Are you going to make Terra fight me like you did with Ventus? … I'm guessing you'll try to use _his_ darkness to take him over, huh?" _After all, Terra's darkness is already growing pretty fast… I wouldn't be surprised if someone _did _use it against him._

Vanitas laughed at that, though, catching Roxas off-guard. "Not a chance- we're leaving his heart untouched, for now at least. No… Terra won't be fighting _you_…" he suddenly disappeared, and Roxas gasped, looking around worriedly before he heard the boy whispering evilly in his ear. "_You'll_ be fighting the man you hate the most…"

"What?" Roxas jumped away quickly, about to summon his Keyblade but Vanitas disappeared again. "Stop hiding already!" he growled angrily, looking around as fast as he could.

"Hmm… how about… no?" Vanitas's voice echoed all around him as he kept teleporting to different spots. "Tell me… how do you feel about darkness?"

"... Darkness?" Roxas frowned, he's never really thought about it before. "I don't really care so much about light or darkness, I'd rather they're together and make twilight." he said the same answer to Vanitas as he had to Eraqus… which seemed so long ago to him now.

Vanitas laughed harshly at that, and it sounded right behind him! Roxas spun around, but the masked boy was no longer there. "Twilight, hmm? Well… then I suppose you hate somebody who's pure darkness?"

"I never said I hated darkness, just that I prefer twilight. And let me guess… you're a being of pure darkness, is that it?" Roxas said, trying to keep calm while he tries to find where his opponent went.

"Oh, perhaps…" Roxas froze, feeling Vanitas poking the back of his head with his Keyblade. "But either way, _I'm_ not the one you're fighting…" And with that, an explosion of darkness engulfed Roxas's vision!

Roxas suddenly felt like his head was going to explode! He fell to his knees as he grabbed his head, grunting in pain before he cried out, "AAAAAAAAAAARGH!" After a few minutes, or what felt like an eternity to Roxas, the pain faded away and he panted, sweating profusely. He then noticed he was alone… no Vanitas or Unversed in the area. "What… what did he… do to me?"

Roxas groaned, slowly getting to his feet. "U-ugh… I feel… so heavy…!" _What… what did Vanitas _do_ to me?_ Then he froze, feeling a familiar presence in the nearby Coliseum. _No… No, it couldn't be… I-it just couldn't!_

A sinking feeling was in the pit of the Nobody's stomach as he hurried into the stadium, hoping against all hope that whom he sensed wasn't who he thinks it is. _How could HE be here?! Was that person in the black coat I saw back at the mine HIM? But why and how? Did HE time travel too?! I-is he trying to find me and bring me to the Organization!?_

Roxas, still having his hood covering his face, hurried through the arena, not caring that someone was scolding him for running in without being registered- he hardly even noticed whoever it was that tried to stop him. Roxas stopped short when he saw the last person he ever wanted to see again… and it looks like he just beat down that helmet-wearing boy he saw earlier. _No… No… NOOO! XEMNAS!_

* * *

**DarkFoxKit: Ooh, what have we here? Xemnas is here? How could that be I wonder… what was Vanitas doing there? Hmmm?**

**Key2DestNE: Heh… Those of you who know the games know what's really going on- and if you do, you've earned a free digital cookie, baked by yours truly!**

**DarkFoxKit: As for the whole 'Ven was sucking Roxas's life force' thing, don't think that won't go anywhere later on, it'll be pretty helpful later. And now… onto the questions. Hmm… There doesn't seem to be any, and any of the previous questions were already answered in this chapter. Someone did ask about when they'll find out Roxas can dual wield, but otherwise, we don't really have much to answer.**

**Key2DestNE: Alright, so basically what Vanitas did to Ven wa- wait… did you say we had NO questions!? *stares at DarkFoxKit in shock* None at all!? T-then- then what can we do NOW?! We just lost all our material!**

**DarkFoxKit: Hey, hey! Easy there Key! *crosses arms* Well, as for when they'll find out, we're not gonna give that away. But we will say that Roxas will be going with Terra again soon, so look forward to that. Oh, and Key, why did you leave that fangirl in the closet?**

**Key2DestNE: … *whistles innocently, leaning on the closet door* I don't know what you're talking about, Fox. Nope… not one bit.**

**DarkFoxKit: *glares and taps foot* Key… let her out now.**

**Key2DestNE: But Fox, if I do, then she'll run loose and drive poor Roxy nu- … *quickly opens the door, smiling widely* Have fun, fangirl~!**

**DarkFoxKit: …. Uhh… Key… how long did you keep her in there?**

**Key2DestNE: *As the raving mad fangirl dashed out in her search for Roxas, he shrugged.* Eh… about a week or two, why?**

**DarkFoxKit: Then why are there skeletons in there?**

**Key2DestNE: Eh? There's- ooooooh, THAT'S where I put the Halloween decorations! *pulls out a skeleton.***

**DarkFoxKit: ….. I'm going now. *takes the camera* Freaking Halloween…**

**Key2DestNE: *begins chasing after her* YOU MUST JOIN US ON THE WITCHING HOUR, SPOOKY AUTHOR!**

**DarkFoxKit: No! Now leave me alone! *begins to run away from Key2DestNE as he tried to put a pointy hat on her head* GET AWAY FROM M- *static***

***Then some text popped up.* Don't forget to review and ask any questions you might have, everybody!**


	10. Chapter 9: Keyblade Warriors

**Key2DestNE: Hey guys, time for a new chapter! I know you all have been excited for this next bit, and giving various theories for why Xemnas is here in the past. Well… this chapter, it's going to be revealed- along with a few other things~! *winks mysteriously***

**DarkFoxKit: Hee, hee, hee… well then… I hope you guys enjoy this. The chapter isn't quite as long as the last two we did, but it's got plenty of action and drama in it!**

**Key2DestNE: Well, there isn't much else to say- and I think everybody wants us to get to the chapter already. So without further ado, here it is- Chapter 10 of Roxas's Story inside Birth By Sleep!**

**DarkFoxKit: …Uh… what? *seems to be speaking into an earphone* … But didn't we just- … No, that's not until the END AN! … No, I said the END! … No! This is the beginning! … *looks over at Key* Key, do the disclaimer, I have a new… rookie to fire. *holds up a shotgun and begins walking backstage***

**Key2DestNE: … *gulp* Uh… r-right… Anyways, we don't own anything within the Kingdom Hearts franchise, not even the plot- just their reactions and how we think Roxas would fit into the Birth By Sleep world! Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go stop Fox from wasting our ammo on another poor newcomer… *frantically rushes off* FOX, WAAAAAIT!**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Keyblade Warriors**

_How is Xemnas here? Did he follow me through TIME?_ Roxas thought to himself in a panicked frenzy, his hood keeping his face hidden. _And where did Vanitas disappear to? What should I do? Is Xemnas still after me?_

Suddenly, Xemnas turned to him and gave him a sinister smirk, making Roxas cringe, then he said something. "Ah, our Keyblade Wielder. Now this is where you've been all this time, Roxas? You've had a long enough vacation, don't you think?"

"What? I didn't have a vacation, I left the Organization for good!" Roxas snapped. Xemnas, who was walking towards him, stopped suddenly.

The tall Nobody scowled, crossing his arms imposingly. "So you believe you could just run away, Roxas? I suppose you know what _happens_ to those who leave the Organization…"

"So you followed me all the way out here just to dispose of me? You're really one crazy man, Xemnas." Roxas spat as he summoned Oblivion.

Xemnas's eyes widened in shock, and he took a step back. "W-what!?" Roxas then blinked as he heard a familiar voice, instead of Xemnas. "How…? You…" But suddenly he smirked again, making Roxas believe maybe he did that just to throw him off. "Very well, let's fight." he summoned the two Ethereal Blades to his hands as he got into a battle ready stance. "Show me what the power of the Keyblade is to the power of Nothingness!"

Roxas growled, holding his Keyblade up aggressively. "Fine, I will!" Without anymore hesitation, Roxas charged at Xemnas, who quickly pulled up his Ethereal Blades to block his incoming attack with a CLASH! The young Nobody refused to give up, he then used his feet to kick at Xemnas's chest before he jumped away. "I've been meaning to fight with you since I left the Organization!"

Xemnas laughed coldly, running towards Roxas as he swung his Ethereal Blades towards Roxas's head! "Wonderful… don't hold back, Roxas! Otherwise… you shall be engulfed in Nothingness!" he jumped back, casting Fira to Roxas's surprise.

_What? … I've never actually fought with Xemnas before, but I've seen him fight… he never used elemental magic before._ Roxas thought to himself in slight confusion, but shrugged it off as he swung the black Keyblade at the fireball to counter it back at him. Then the young Nobody jumped and somersaulted into the air, literally almost making him into a human chainsaw with that Oblivion. Xemnas seemed to be trying to block it, but he was hit a few times, then Roxas took this moment to jab at him!

Xemnas was a long stronger than Roxas thought, and by that he means at a more physical caliber, because Xemnas used his blades to push him back, and by back Roxas meant he was literally rocketing towards the stands, if he hadn't recovered in time to land on the ground, he would've no doubt be having a very bad backache right now. _I never knew Xemnas was someone who was physically strong like that… I heard he mostly likes to attack in a fast pattern rather than using brute force…_

Roxas didn't have time to think about this oddity as Xemnas was charging at him! He gasped, quickly performing a Reversal around Xemnas's Ethereal Blades! "No you don't!" he cried out, slamming his Keyblade into Xemnas's back.

Xemnas grunted in pain, but he quickly turned and fired off another magic spell- Blizzard. "Nothingness is eternal, Roxas! You shall not escape the Organization!"

* * *

Roxas jumped to avoid the ice spell, but Xemnas was relentless… it almost seemed like he was trying to take aim at him, which puzzled Roxas- as far as the Nobody knew, the Leader of the Organization never shoots with his blades… he then stood corrected as he was suddenly being bombarded with beams of energy like a gun! "WAH!" Roxas quickly tried to guard against them all, but he was hit multiple times, almost bringing him down to his knees as Xemnas charged at him again.

Roxas hissed as he Dodge Rolled out of the way before Xemnas could hit him and he cast Curaga on himself before quickly standing back up. "What're you trying to do, Xemnas!? Bring me back!?" he scoffed, pulling his Keyblade to his chest to keep his guard up. "Not likely!" _Was that… a Shotlock? … Well it's pretty similar to one, or maybe Xigbar's been giving Xemnas lessons…_

Xemnas's smirk merely widened, as he got back into a battle-ready stance, with his legs wide apart and his Ethereal Blades combined in one hand. "Oh, is that so, Roxas? I suppose that's a shame… Axel _has_ missed you so in our missions!" he taunted, making Roxas freeze for a moment. "Oh, but he can't miss you anymore, now can he?" he laughed tauntingly, adding, "After all, Dusks can't even keep their own memories!"

Roxas's eyes widen from under his hood, and horror began to fill his being… but soon it was replaced by anger and rage. "How… how COULD you!? He… Axel… he- he was my best… and only _real_ friend!" No longer wanting to hold back from this man, the Key to Destiny held out his other hand and summoned Oathkeeper in a bright light, now wielding both Oblivion and Oathkeeper. Roxas was gritting his teeth, tears spilling from his eyes- it was at this point the angry Nobody was glad no one could see his face.

Xemnas's eyes widened in shock, and he took a step back. Again, Roxas heard a familiar voice instead of Xemnas. "W-what the!? How can you wield TWO Keyblades!?" Xemnas frowned, his own voice coming back to him as he added, "And why did you never mention this to me, Roxas!? You could have been so much more valuable with_ two_ Keyblades instead of one!"

"I don't care about being of used to you or the Organization, Xemnas. You're going down,_ especially _after what you did to Axel!" Roxas charged at him, dragging his two Keyblades from the ground before he jumped at him and attacked rapidly in a combo frenzy, giving Xemnas no time to react! "Take THIS!" Roxas hit Xemnas with BOTH of his Keyblades and pushed him back, forcing his former boss's knee to the ground.

Xemnas groaned in pain, glaring up at Roxas in anger. "Why you little…!" he growled, aiming his Ethereal Blades to the sky. "THUNDER!" he roared, causing Roxas to be instantly struck with a huge lightning bolt!

"Gah!" Roxas grunted in pain but was still far from down. He then jumped and glided, before he pointed his two Keyblades at Xemnas, "Firaga!" and shot out huge fireballs almost like a gun at his former boss. Xemnas jumped back, trying to dodge or block his fireballs, but a few did manage to scorch him.

Roxas landed and charged at him again, deciding to use his melee attacks once more. The Nobody managed to get in a few combos before Xemnas seem to have used a Reflect spell, which isn't unusual for the Leader of Organization XIII, and pushed back Roxas off of him before jumping away, obviously seeing that a close up fight with Roxas was too dangerous at this point.

It seemed Xemnas was going to rely on his 'Shotlock' again, because Roxas could see he was taking aim at him with his Ethereal Blades and began shooting those beams of energy. Roxas hated these things, because trying to dodge or guard them wasn't easy, he tried using Areo to reduce the damage because he knew he wouldn't be able to keep up a Reflect spell for long. After the energy beams were done, Roxas charged at him once more, using Oblivion and Oathkeeper to bat away any fireballs or ice crystals Xemnas tried to throw him before he got in close.

Roxas narrowed his eyes when he thought he saw some kind of dark aura over Xemnas… another oddity Roxas noted, Nobodies _shouldn't _be able to use light or darkness… still, Roxas ignored this and shoved Xemnas into a wall, making it hard for him to escape Roxas's next deadly combo frenzy. Of course, Roxas wasn't able to keep him there for long, it was as if Xemnas just got twice as strong suddenly because he managed to block some of Roxas's attacks and push him far away again before Xemnas casted Cura on himself.

_What? How is Xemnas doing that? He's almost fighting like a Keyblade Wielder, it's so weird!_ Roxas thought to himself in surprise. Then suddenly, Xemnas came at him way too fast! Roxas barely had enough time to block his incoming attack… but it was like Xemnas got faster and stronger so quickly, was he toying around him before?

* * *

Roxas managed to parry Xemnas's Ethereal Blades with his own two Keyblades, but the brute force in his attacks made it hard for Roxas to keep a steady footing, and one wrong move was all Xemnas needed to knock Roxas around before he made the younger Nobody fall on face in pain. Roxas groaned as he reached to the point he could use his Limit attack… and he better do it quick before he ends up in a situation like he almost did with Xehanort earlier.

Xemnas seemed to be approaching him slowly, almost cautiously, before Roxas suddenly jumped without warning as he was waiting for his former boss to get within range. Roxas wasted no time lighting both his Keyblades, making them much stronger and deadlier as he attacked much faster than he did before, giving Xemnas absolutely no room to retaliate! Xemnas grunted in pain as Roxas kept attacking, then The Key to Destiny jumped into the air. "THIS IS FOR AXEL!" Roxas summoned the 13 pillars of light and scrambled them as they all attacked Xemnas!

By the time Roxas finished the attack, he fell back to his feet as Xemnas laid on the ground, looking half conscious. Roxas approached him, ready to finish the job… but… when he got close enough, he saw Xemnas pulling out… a Hi-Potion from his pocket! Roxas gasped as he quickly charged, knowing the battle was not over yet, but Xemnas was quick when he gulped down the Hi-Potion and got up in time to parry Roxas's Keyblades. Both of them were at a standstill here and at each other's faces. Roxas was pushing back with all of his remaining strength to try and match Xemnas's ridiculously powerful yet lean body. Then suddenly, Xemnas reached out a hand and pulled back his hood, revealing the young Nobody's face.

Roxas gasped, but it was _nothing_ compared to Xemnas's reaction. He stumbled back, his Ethereal Blades disappearing. "V-Ven…?" Roxas blinked at that- it almost sounded like… Terra? "Wait… no… ROXAS!? What- since when could you…?"

Roxas glared as his grip tightened around his two Keyblades. "Enough of your mind games, don't think I'll fall for it, Xemnas!" he snapped, looking ready to charge again, but for some reason… Xemnas's voice didn't change back.

"R-Roxas, what's _with_ you? Why are _you_ attacking me!?" Xemnas's mouth was beginning to grow out of sync with his words… "Wait… your eyes…!" he took another step back in shock. "No way…"

The young Nobody didn't appreciate Xemnas trying to trick him again, so he charged and tried to slash at him again, but Xemnas reacted quickly as he summoned his Ethereal Blades to block… but that's all he did, he only blocked Roxas's Oblivion and Oathkeeper- it was almost like he wasn't trying to fight him anymore.

"Stop messing around and fight!" Roxas snapped angrily as he jumped back, still in his battle stance and ready to strike again. "What, you're _scared_ now!? I didn't think you were scared when you turned Axel into a _Dusk_!" he gritted his teeth, tears trickling down his face again.

To Roxas's surprise, though… Xemnas frowned. "Roxas, snap out of it! You're being controlled- it's me, Terra! I don't know who Xemnas is… but I need you to snap out of it and realize just who you're _really_ fighting!"

Roxas frowned at this… something was definitely wrong here… _Terra? What? That can't be… No, it's got to be a trick!_ "Why don't you quit with your mind games? I know you're just trying to confuse me!" Roxas attacked again, hitting Xemnas's arm, who then tried to block his attacks again. With Roxas up at his face, it was then the young Nobody could see the face was starting to blink into another. "What? What are you doing?"

Xemnas gritted his teeth, still trying to block Roxas's attacks with his arms. "R-Roxas… Roxas, come on- don't you recognize me!?" his silver hair was slowly turning brown, his yellow eyes turning blue and his face slowly grew younger. "Come on, fight it! Don't let… don't let the darkness control you! Not like it happened to me- _fight it_!"

"What are you _talking_ about!? Darkness doesn't control me! It _can't_ control me!" Roxas snapped back, now more confused than ever and it irritated him, he didn't stop his attacks though they were starting to slow down. _Is this really Xemnas? He's starting to look like someone else! What's going on here!? Who have I been really fighting?_

As Xemnas kept blocking Roxas's Keyblades, his expression changed as well- from shock to concern. "Roxas, you may not think you can be controlled by darkness, but it's easier than you may think! Come on… I know you can hear me, Roxas!"

Roxas hissed in a bit of pain as Xemnas managed to pin Oathkeeper down. Gritting his teeth in irritation, Roxas raised Oblivion to try and strike but stopped suddenly when it felt like something in his head shattered! His eyes widened as pain began filling his head once more, and he dropped both his Keyblades, causing them to disappear as he grabbed his head and began grunting in pain. _What… what's happening to me _now_!?_

As Roxas groaned in pain, his face nearly touching the floor, he noticed Xemnas's boots right next to him… right before they transformed into Terra's shoes. "Roxas!" The Nobody froze, feeling whom he thought was Xemnas hugging him tightly. "No, no…!" _Why do I have to always hear that!? WHY!? I swear I'm more unbalanced than even most mental teenagers at a_ mental institution_! And… wait… don't tell me I've been fighting with TERRA all this time! Great, just great- this is a _lovely_ predicament I just got myself in! And he saw me wield not one but TWO Keyblades! Ugh… This is giving me more headaches…_

Terra frowned worriedly when the boy in his arms didn't answer, looking Roxas over. "Are you okay?" Roxas still didn't give a response, and he gulped, putting a gentle but firm hand on his friend's head. "Cura!" A familiar green halo of light surrounded Roxas, and Terra waited as Roxas groaned weakly again.

Roxas really didn't want to have to speak right now, not because of the pain in his head… though that is part of the reason, or that his body is very sore, but mostly because he didn't want to have to explain the situation… it would be too complicated and he needed to think of a story that could work right here and now- still, if he made Terra worry even more about him, the guy will probably get a heart attack. "I'm… fine…"

Terra sighed in relief as soon as he heard those words, and he gently helped Roxas sit up. "That's good…" then he frowned a bit, looking at Roxas questioningly. "...When did you…?" _When did he get a Keyblade? And for that matter, why didn't he want to reveal it? Not to mention, how did he get _two_? As far as we know, it's impossible to wield more than one…_

Roxas sighed as he quickly tried to come up with a believable story, one thing he knew about time travel is to never reveal you are a time traveler, that is a very dangerous thing… so the boy went with the easiest option he could think of on the spot. "I… I don't know… I've always had the Keyblade ever since I could remember." Well it was kind of the truth anyway, and playing amnesia would help save him from having to explain too much… and to keep him from having to make up a complex story he might not remember.

Terra frowned at that, but he didn't question that bit anymore. "I suppose that makes sense… but how can you use _two _Keyblades?" Roxas paled a bit, gulping. "And… why didn't you want to tell us? Were you worried about something?"

In hindsight, Roxas should've seen that question coming… well, he couldn't feign amnesia here… "... I don't know how I'm able to use two Keyblades… I just _could_ one day." that was the truth, Roxas really _didn't_ know how or why he gained another Keyblade, just that he did. "As for why I didn't want to tell you… well… I wasn't allowed to tell you really… and you shouldn't have found out… I'm… I'm sorry for attacking you, I thought you were someone else."

Terra blinked at that before he frowned, crossing his arms. "You thought I was this _Xemnas_, huh?" He frowned at that, closing his eyes. _Don't get angry… I shouldn't hurt him… It wasn't his fault- he was being controlled…!_

"If you're angry with me that's fine. I was stupid for being fooled so easily." Roxas said bitterly, almost as if he read Terra's mind, in truth he felt his darkness, and it was one of anger and irritation. _Even after I made a promise to myself not to be fooled or tricked again… it still happened…!_

Terra paused at that. "..." Then he sighed, helping Roxas to his feet. "Well… I'm more irritated that you hid something that could help us for so long." Then he grinned slightly, ruffling Roxas's hair. "Heck, you gave me quite the fight there- great job, Roxas!"

Roxas blinked at him, almost as if he was shocked at Terra's sudden behavior and that he just ruffled his hair… nobody's ever ruffled his hair before, at least not like that. "Um… thanks? … And I _was_ helping you guys, just not while you saw me…"

Terra shrugged, giving a lopsided grin. "Heh… Well, either way, great job with that fight, Roxas. I'm not sure who taught you, but you have some moves I've never even seen before- impressive job! But… was it your Master who told you not to reveal that you have Keyblades?"

The Nobody sighed… _Hah… if only I DID have a Master…_ "Not exactly… but I do have my reasons. But…" he gave a slight smirk at Terra. "_Now_ would you believe me when I say I could take care of myself?"

Terra chuckled sheepishly at that reminder, scratching the back of his neck. "Well… you did well enough, I suppose…" then he glanced down at Roxas's coat, giving another small frown. "So… what's with the outfit?"

"... This coat… I used it to try and keep my identity a secret when I fight around you guys, but… I can see that backfired… it's also to protect me from darkness." Roxas answered with a shrug. _And a LOT OF GOOD that did for me! Seriously, how'd I get tricked by such a simple thing like an _illusion_!?_

Terra frowned at that, glancing down at his fist before it clenched. "So… you're protected from darkness while wearing that thing?" _It's too bad… I doubt it would cleanse my own personal darkness… otherwise…_

Roxas sighed, shrugging. "Well it protects you from the outside influences of darkness, but from within? Not so much. Well… I don't think I really need it anymore, seeing how you, Ven and Aqua now know I can wield at least one Keyblade." The Nobody sighed as he took off his coat, and instead of putting it back into his pocket, he threw it off into the wind.

* * *

Terra smiled a bit, seeing Roxas in his own clothes and not hiding with that cloak. "It's good to know you won't hide like that anymore… Roxas." Then he blinked, glancing back behind him as he noticed the black haired boy from his match slowly standing up from where he had been sitting and watching the fight. "Mmm?" he frowned in confusion as he then noticed a bunch of confetti beginning to fall from the air! _What in the worlds…?_

"Whoa! That was so AMAZING you two! It was like watching the big finale from Star Wars or something!" the black haired boy said in excitement, clapping his gloved hands like crazy. Then he blinked, realizing something. "Oh right, I should introduce myself! I'm Zack, nice to meet you!"

Roxas looked up at him… Zack was that helmet-wearing boy he saw earlier. "Zack? I thought Phil had you enter the East side of the tournament, what're you doing _here_?"

Zack grinned, leaning back a bit. "Heh… I did- this is the final round of the Games, the East side winner versus the West side winner!" Then he frowned a bit, glancing to the side. "Unfortunately, Phil chose Herc after all… but, well… I guess I can wait for now."

"You're an awfully good sport about this…" Roxas chuckled, crossing his arms in amusement.

"Yeah, but man, you two are just WOW! You could make heroes easily!" Zack said as if it was fact. "In fact, what was your name?" he pointed at the taller Keyblade Wielder, smiling.

"... I'm no hero, not even close." Terra said with a frown. "But… my name's Terra."

"Yeah, neither am I." Roxas shrugged, not really caring about being a hero or not- though to be fair, the closest thing he has to really knowing what a 'hero' is was Pete as 'Captain Justice', so he can't say he has… high expectations with heroes.

Zack blinked in surprise at that. "You kidding? Listen to those cheers, you two!" Roxas and Terra both blinked in surprise, glancing around to hear the entire Coliseum on it's feet and cheering! "You don't get to _decide_ whether you're a hero or not, guys. _They_ do. And they've already made up their minds. Whether you like it or not, you're _their_ heroes." he then grinned, pointing to himself. "And mine too- in fact, Terra… You're _just_ the kind of person I imagine a hero would look like!"

"Oh, so what am I? Just some random kid who got lucky?" Roxas crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow.

Zack shook his head, chuckling. "Heck no- you're who I _could_ be right now at our age!" Then he frowned, glancing off to the side. "It's too bad, though… I really wanted to fight you fair and square, Terra. Stupid God of Death…"

"... Um…" Roxas was going to ask but decided against it, it looks like a sensitive subject and he didn't want to step on anyone's toes.

Zack then looked up at Roxas and said, smiling, "Oh yeah, Ven told me to give you a message! He said that he wants to travel on his own for a while, you know, the whole self journey thing- he says you'll be alright on your own."

Roxas blinked and was about to say something when Terra beat him to it, grabbing his former opponent's shoulders. "Wait, Ven was here?"

"Yeah, but you just missed him, sorry Terra." Zack shrugged. "I guess he didn't realize you were here too."

"Wait… Ven LEFT me?" Roxas groaned. _Oh great, I guess that means I'm stuck with Terra for now…_ Roxas didn't dislike Terra or anything, but he's most uncomfortable around Terra due to his constant darkness spikes, that and the guy is pretty intimidating when he's mad… and the fact that Terra, out of the trio, knows he could use _two_ Keyblades didn't make it any easier.

Terra frowned a bit at that, but he smiled down at Roxas. "Well… I suppose we'll have to travel together for now, Roxas. You… don't mind, do you?" he frowned a bit, seeing Roxas hesitate. _…I guess I scared him… he's still a kid, two Keyblades or not- I shouldn't forget that…_

Roxas gave him a somewhat strained smile, quickly shaking his head. "Of course not, I don't mind Terra… it's been a while since we traveled together really…" _For a Nobody, I suck at acting._

Terra frowned a bit more, crossing his arms. "Well… you don't have to hide your emotions from me." Roxas gulped, about to say something, before Terra turned and began to walk out of the stadium. "I'll see you some other time, Zack- c'mon Roxas… we still have to find Vanitas."

"Wait, so you're not going to take me back to your world for safety?" Roxas asked him as the two began walking away from the stadium. _That's pretty surprising- I was sure he'd be convinced that I have to head back… Wait, Vanitas… _he_ was the one who made me see that illusion… but how and why?_

Terra shrugged, still walking out of the stadium. "Well… you're able to handle yourself, right? It may be dangerous… but as long as we get you some items, you should be alright- especially with _two_ Keyblades!"

"... Yeah, about that… don't tell anyone I can use two Keyblades… I'm already big enough trouble as it is now that _you_ know… Ven and Aqua only knows I can use one, so please, please, PLEASE don't tell them!" Roxas all but begged.

The tall Keyblade Wielder blinked in surprise, glancing down at Roxas before he nodded. "I suppose so… but you'll have to tell them eventually, just remember that."

"... Why do I_ have_ to?" Roxas frowned, asking him. _It's not like I plan to stick around once I can get back to my time period._

Terra blinked before looking at Roxas… who looked like he really didn't think he had to. He frowned a bit at that, crossing his arms. "Roxas… you can't just ignore responsibility- you have to tell them because they _care_ about you. It's your responsibility to not lie to them about…" he hesitated before continuing in a slightly darker, more bitter tone. "...about what you're _really_ doing."

Roxas shuddered at that last sentence. "What do you think I'm _really_ doing? You make it sound like I'm doing something bad…" _I wonder if he's… angry with me for attacking him earlier… or that maybe I look so much like Ven but I'm not._

Terra blinked at that before he quickly shook his head. "W-what? No, no, I just meant don't hide yourself behind lies! Don't…" he took a deep breath, remembering Aqua. "Don't lie to your friends- they care about you." _Other than Aqua, that is… she decided to _spy_ on me because Master Eraqus doesn't trust me! _"And if they find out without you telling them… it's going to _crush_ them."

"... Did it crush you when you saw me using two Keyblades?" Roxas asked him, frowning a bit worriedly. "If it did, I'm sorry… you don't have to travel with me."

Terra blinked in surprise before he groaned, rubbing his forehead. _And _this_ is why Aqua always taught Ven the morals lessons, and not me… _"No, Roxas- it isn't _that_. I'm not crushed by that, all I mean is you shouldn't lie and hide secrets from those who care about you! I'm surprised, yes, but… I'm not_ crushed_ by it."

"So… it crushes people who care about someone else if they lie or hide secrets from them?" Roxas asked as he thought about why he abandoned the Organization. _Well, it's true I wasn't happy when Axel hid things from me… and why I left in the first place. I guess I can see where Terra's coming from… but I CAN'T tell them, if I do then… I might not…_ That's when another thought occurred to Roxas. Until now, he didn't know why Axel was hiding things from him, things he obviously had the _right_ to know. _Was it because Axel thought it would be for the best that I didn't know the truth? That he worried what would happen to me if I did? … If I could see Axel again, I owe him an apology…_

* * *

Terra noticed Roxas has been quiet since he said that, it seems like the kid was deep in thought about something. The tall Keyblade Wielder gave a small sigh in relief, realizing Roxas was thinking about what he said. _Guess I actually managed to make some sense to the kid… Geez, that was a major headache though…_ Terra smiled slightly, patting Roxas's shoulder. "Well, you can think about it as we ride- for now, you ready to go? Or should we get you some items first, maybe stop at a secret health spot?"

"Oh… well are there any shops around? I haven't been able to stock up on items, I've mostly counted on magic like Cure to keep me from being too badly wounded." Roxas answered with a shrug.

"You survived this long _without_ items?" Terra stared at him, his eyes wide in shock. _How in the worlds did Roxas _survive_ like this!?_

"... Well I traveled with Aqua and Ven for a bit so…" Roxas shrugged. "Of course… they didn't really know I could fight at the time yet… but I did have items before I met you guys, I just… lost them when I came to your world."

Terra blinked at that before he sighed, rubbing his forehead in slight aggravation. _And of course, Roxas didn't even _try_ to look for shops around the worlds… _"Okay, Roxas…" he paused, trying to think of how to say this right. "...Let's get to a secret health spot first, then maybe we can find an items shop so you can restock!"

"Thank you… I'm sorry for being such a bother." Roxas rubbed the back of his head as if embarrassed. _I feel like such an idiot… how did I not think to look around for item shops!? The Moogle in the World that Never Was sold items- why not here? … I guess since I could always get items from that Moogle I never had any reason to look for a shop in another world._

While they were shopping and getting the items they needed, Terra was thinking about something… and he couldn't wait anymore. "Roxas… who was your Master? I mean, why don't you have any armor? How did you travel between worlds without them? Did you lose them when you ended up in our world?"

"Huh?" Roxas blinked, looking at him before he realized the taller Keyblade Wielder was talking about the armor he, Aqua and Ven uses. "O-oh, well… I never got any armor." he answered as he paid the shopkeeper their munny for his Ethers, Potions and Elixirs.

Terra froze at that, staring down at Roxas in shock. "You… You didn't get any armor!? _Ever_!?" _What kind of Master did Roxas _have_!? _"Roxas, if you don't have armor… how do you get around to different worlds? Heck, how did your Master _intend_ for you to travel to different worlds?"

"... What does it take to get armor from your Master?" Roxas asked Terra, mostly so he knows how a Master decides to give their students any armor, that and he wasn't sure if Terra would like it if he heard _how_ Roxas got around to other worlds... _Does he think I can use the Keyblade Glider too?_

Terra frowned a bit, crossing his arms. "Well… there's an armory in the Land of Departure- I don't know about other Keyblade Masters, but Master Eraqus would have you go into the armory and choose a suit of armor that called to you." he gave a soft smile at the memory of getting his own armor, continuing to speak. "Then if it didn't fit you, he'd help adjust it…"

"That sounds interesting…" Roxas said as he blinked. _So… the armor calls out to you like the Keyblade does? Wow, things work… _differently_ in the past. I just got my Keyblade because… well, it was already_ there_, not because I chose it or because it chose me or anything._

Terra nodded softly, his eyes slightly misty from remembering the past, before he shook his head, bringing himself back to the present as he glanced down at Roxas. "But then… if you just always had your Keyblade, and you never got armor… did you ever learn how to make a Keyblade Glider?"

Roxas crossed his arms and said with a sarcastic tone, "I barely know how to use the Shotlock, what does that tell you?" there wasn't any point in lying about that, but Roxas didn't seem to want to tell Terra he was self-taught.

Terra blinked at that before he chuckled sheepishly. "I… suppose you have a point." he cleared his throat, before he seemed to get an idea. "Well… when we find Vanitas and capture him… do you want me to teach you more about the Shotlock? Even if your own Master is going to teach you it someday, it'd be better to learn about it now… better early than late!"

"Yeah, I suppose if you want to." Roxas shrugged. _Guess it isn't really important- after all, I'm not really gonna stick around that long…_

Terra chuckled as he thought to himself while Roxas was putting away his items into his pockets. _I guess Roxas's Master is far stricter than Master Eraqus, maybe his Master thought he was too young for the armor or the glider. I mean… he seems just as young as Ventus… did he say he was 15? … One year younger, then. I'm surprised he's as strong as he is really._ "Ready to go?"

Roxas nodded, giving a small grin. "Yeah, let's go." _This is getting exciting, really… I'm learning things I never thought I would…_

Terra tapped his armor as it encased his body in a flash of light. The same drill, he makes his Keyblade Glider, holds on to Roxas so the armor would be shared with him, and they go out of the world and into the Realms of Between.

* * *

**DarkFoxKit: It was a tranquilizer dart, I wasn't actually going to kill him! *stops and sees the camera rolling* Oh, uh… hi folks! Did you enjoy Roxas and Terra's little scuffle?**

**Key2DestNE: *he was arguing with her beforehand, but he nodded, chuckling a bit.* Yeah, I don't think anybody expected Xemnas to be TERRA. It's a nice nod to the continuity of the series- for those who know about it- though. Wouldn't you agree, Miss Shoot 'Em Up? *pokes Fox's stomach***

**DarkFoxKit: I told you it was a TRANQUILIZER DART! *growls irritably* ANYWAYS! I don't have time for your little paranoia, we've got some questions and comments to answer back to! But before that... Roxas threw his coat into the wind because he thinks he doesn't need it anymore, but that doesn't mean you'll never see it again. Now then... *picks up some paper* AHEM! Now then… termvXIII, I am very happy to hear that you've gained a lot of respect and like for the 'original trio' as you called them. Though honestly, when you said 'original trio' I thought you had meant Sora, Riku and Kairi at first, not Terra, Aqua and Ventus. But I'm still happy to hear you're liking them because of this story!**

**Key2DestNE: Heh- yeah, it's always nice to let another fan of a series enjoy some of the other characters! *smiles, picking up another piece of paper* Now for Sylkelith. …I hope I pronounced that correctly… *coughs awkwardly* A-anyways, I'm glad to see you agree about a kitten being born every time Ven or Roxas is given a hug! Now as for Vanitas's true backstory… It wasn't just given in the manga, but in the reports as well- so considering we have so much information about him, and how Roxas and Vanitas are possibly rivals… *smirks at the camera, winking* Well, I'll leave the rest up to your imagination~**

**DarkFoxKit: Now the last person to ask us some questions for this chapter is Mordecai. … I don't recall using the ' too much. Mostly on words like 'don't' and 'didn't' and things like that. But not too often, if at all, for 'c'mon' and if there was a word like that, most likely my co-author typed it, I usually just put 'come on'. But you shouldn't let something like that bother you, it's something most people use in this day and age.**

**Key2DestNE: Besides, it's not like it's that odd- I mean, c'mon and come on are the exact same thing, one's just shorter.**

**DarkFoxKit: And as for the 'vague explanation of Roxas's reaction to Vanitas's face'... hmm… Let's just say… he's not gonna be too happy when he sees it.**

**Key2DestNE: *mutters* That's putting it mildly… Ahem! Finally, for those of you who said Young Xehanort was Xemnas here… Well, it's obvious by this chapter that he WASN'T, but he will show up eventually~ *grins knowingly* Or maybe not- it's all up to what you all think will happen~**

**DarkFoxKit: Honestly, I was surprised so many people thought it actually was Xemnas or at least Young Xehanort posing as Xemnas. We gave a subtle hint that it was only an illusion set up by Vanitas when he was whispering to Roxas in the previous chapter.**

**Key2DestNE: Not to mention the fact that 'Xemnas' had just beaten Zack, just like Terra did in the games! Hellooooo, anyone remember THAT tidbit, or is it just me?**

**DarkFoxKit: I guess most people just read with their brains turned off. If you go back and read it again, you'll see the hints there. Anyways, that's all the questions and comments we have for today! I'm glad we- …. *taps on the earphone* What? No I did not say you can drop nuclear bombs in the city! What, are you mad?! …. *pales* Oh boy… uh… Key… we have a bit of an emergency! Wrap this up quick!**

**Key2DestNE: Wah? *blinks in confusion* What happened? I thought you already fired that employee who got the scripts mixed up! What's going on THIS time?**

**DarkFoxKit: First of all… I didn't get the chance to fire them because you stopped me- second, I TOLD you I needed to shoot them with the tranquilizer darts! And third, we have approximately 3 minutes to stop a nuclear bomb, so I suggest you pick up the pace and stop asking 'why'!**

**Key2DestNE: O_O O-oh, well in THAT case! *hastily turns back to the camera* I'm Key, this is Fox, and we hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to read and review the chapter if you haven't already, and- WAH!**

**DarkFoxKit: *grabs Key and begins running* Yes, yes, yes! They get it! And if we survive, we look forward to hearing from you. Ask questions, give us some comments to say back in our ANs, and we'll see ya'll next time! *turns off camera***


	11. Chapter 10: Outer Space

**Key2DestNE: Hey everybody, Key here for a new chapter of Roxas's Story! Again, we're sorry if we're a bit late on the time- it's still the same day, though, so we're not THAT far off from what you all might have thought!**

**DarkFoxKit: But can you really blame us? We didn't have a lot of comments in our review this week, so we weren't too motivated to really do the AN or update it any time soon.**

**Key2DestNE: On the bright side, though, we ARE updating today, and we're ready to get started! ...That is, if you all are AWAKE this time! *taps the camera a few times* Helloooooo! Anybody in there!?**

**DarkFoxKit: Yeah, seriously! We don't really like seeing only one sentence in a review! Especially if all they say is 'good story! Update soon!' I can't tell you how much that ticks me off! *ahem* … Sorry, I'm pretty cranky today. I had a lot of issues with my computer and Internet connections lately.**

**Key2DestNE: Yeaaaaah, she's having issues with Webroot- apparently it won't let her reinstall Google Chrome, so she has to use Internet Explorer. This is off topic, but if any of you lovely people know an answer to this, please PM her and help us get back on track!**

**DarkFoxKit: But seriously folks, it would help if you guys give a little more insight with your reviews. But we've held you up long enough… Go ahead, start reading.**

**Key2DestNE: … *whispers quietly into the microphone* And if you can give her advice with her conflicting programs as well, that might put her in a better mood and thus keep the chapters going smoothly…**

**DarkFoxKit: I SAID START READING! *storms off, muttering darkly***

* * *

**Chapter 10: Outer Space**

Roxas couldn't help but notice how tense Terra felt while they were traveling through the Realms. "Hey, are you still worried that you'd lose me again?"

"Well… in my defense, _all three _of us lost you at some point. You're pretty slippery." Terra said from within his armor.

Roxas couldn't help but hear some humor there, and he shrugged. "Yeah well… sometimes slipping away was the best thing to do."

Terra scoffed, and if he was able to, Roxas knew the older man would give him a disbelieving look. "The best thing for whom- us or you?" Roxas was silent for a few moments, and Terra sighed. "Look… I know you didn't want us to know about your Keyblade, but you shouldn't have felt the need to sneak away…"

"I guess not… But like I said before, I do have my reasons. Well… don't worry Terra- the next time I want to separate from you, I'll tell you, okay? Believe it or not, I do have my own ways to travel between worlds." Roxas assured him, smiling a bit under his armor.

Terra shrugged a bit, and the two flew in silence for a few minutes. Then the older Keyblade Wielder quickly stopped his Keyblade Glider in midair, glancing around. "Unversed!" He glanced in all directions, seeing nothing but a huge horde of the creatures around him.

"I guess we're going to be chasing them down, huh?" Roxas said, still looking around. "Then let's get them!" he summoned Oathkeeper to his hand, growing excited.

Terra chuckled, nodding slightly. "Right…" _Roxas sounds so similar to Ven sometimes… It's kinda scary- but it's pretty heartwarming, too… _As the Unversed then charged the two, he quickly ducked the Keyblade Glider underneath them, letting Roxas bash away from under the creatures.

Then Roxas aimed a Thundara attack with his Keyblade, zapping the majority of them that had the two surrounded. The Oathkeeper was easy to use magic with, which is why he's using it, but then he noticed something ahead. "Terra… what's that up ahead?"

The brown-haired man blinked, glancing ahead of them both. "H-huh? …I'm not sure, but it… it almost looks like a- huh!?" Terra yelped in surprise as the Keyblade Glider suddenly shook underneath them both! "W-whoa! WAAAAAH!" Both of them had to hang on tight as their form of transportation was suddenly sucked into the spaceship!

* * *

Roxas yelped as he suddenly fell off the Keyblade Glider and the armor disappeared in a flash of light. He fell to the floor with a THUD. "Ow…" he groaned before quickly looking up, hearing what sounded like an 'intruder alert'. "Terra! Where are you?" he frowned a bit, slowly getting to his feet. _Ow… Note to self- never fall off anything that's more than a few feet off the ground… _he groaned, stretching a bit to reduce the pain.

Then the Nobody's head perked up, noticing Unversed pop up all around him. He groaned, hanging his head in disappointment. "Oh come on… not even a little break?" he muttered. He sighed, before glancing up at the Unversed and holding out his hand to summon Oblivion.

As Roxas fought against the Unversed, he managed to take out about half the horde when the doors suddenly opened up around him! The young Nobody gasped when he saw these creatures wearing space suits and a helmet charging in, trying to shoot at him with their plasma guns! Roxas yelped as he tried to jump away. "H-hey! Why are you shooting at me? I'm only trying to fight off the Unversed!" he shouted at them, hoping they would listen to him.

None of the creatures really listened as they all kept firing at him. A speaker crackled to life above them, and Roxas listened to it as he dodged another laser blast. **"All units, capture the intruder- and I want him ALIVE**!" It sounded like a grumpy old man, and as if on cue, _more_ of those creatures rushed into the room!

Roxas hissed as he got shot from multiple places, he tried to use Reflectga to try and fend them off, or even tried to guard from the occasional Unversed, but there were so many and he couldn't possibly keep it up! The Nobody didn't give up, he tried calling for Terra, surely he _must_ be nearby since they landed at the same time! "Terra! TERRA! Where are you!?" he yelled, but didn't receive an answer.

Some of the Unversed jumped on Roxas's back, the boy hissed as he managed to swipe at its head with his Oblivion, but as soon as he did, another plasma gun hit him! Roxas tried to use Cura to heal himself, but the rapid fires made it impossible to cast anything, let alone a healing spell! He tried to reach into his pocket for a Potion, but he still didn't have time to open the bottle, let alone drink it! "Gah!" Roxas glared, deciding to throw caution into the wind and charge at the horde, trying to get through one of the doors!

Roxas managed to swing his Oblivion to try and deflect the plasma guns and even reached the creatures that were firing at him. Almost out of energy, he was still slicing through his way, but he was soon quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number of these guys and they all began to tackle him down! Roxas groaned as he heard some of them talking on their communication devices as he slowly began to black out, yet still trying to struggle. "N-no… I won't… be…"

One of the creatures holding his head down suddenly slammed it into the ground below them, and Roxas gasped in pain before everything around him turned into darkness.

* * *

_Ugh… my head really hurts… Huh… looks like I'm back in this place again. But something's different… It's almost like the place has a more solid feel to it, like an actual ground…_

"_Roxas…"_

_I lifted up my head… It's you again… what just happened?_

"_You… were knocked… out… Are you… okay?"_

_My body is sore and my head hurts… but otherwise I think I'll be fine. But could you tell me something? … Who helped me before? I remember seeing someone in a black coat and gave me one too… do you know who that was? He couldn't have been a part of this timeline, he seemed to know me._

"_You're… right… he isn't… He's… someone from… your future… His name… do you want to… know it?"_

_I don't know…_ should_ I know? I'm worried that by knowing, things could get out of control… I've already screwed up when Terra saw me wield two Keyblades. And knowing there's someone who's also in the future here… how would that affect me and the timeline?_

"_It… will all be fine… This all… happened… even if nobody… remembers it anymore…"_

_Wait, what? It had happened before? I don't get it… it couldn't have, I wasn't a part of it before…_

_Then suddenly I felt a tremor. I frowned at that, looking up, seeing the blurry colors suddenly shifting around me to a dull gray. What's happening? Am I waking up?_

"_Shh… listen…"_

_I frowned, but then I started hearing voices, voices that were not the one I was talking to._

"Are you sure he's dangerous? He's just a child."

"I assure you, Grand Council Woman, he took out almost half our army before he was knocked out!"

_Those voices… they're outside… What should I do? They think I'm dangerous…_

"Hmm… Well, I suppose we should hold him for now. Captain Gantu, this child… doesn't he seem to be the same species as that other one you've located?" _It sounded more like a statement than a question._

"Exactly, which is why we must be cautious."

_The voices… they're getting further away. I guess I really did get captured… who else were they talking about? Did they capture Terra too?_

"_You must hurry… there's not much time."_

_What? Not much time for what?_

"_You need to stay on this ship until it's time to leave."_

What? You mean I can't get out of here with Terra?

"_Yes, you need to stay until it's time for you to go."_

_But how do I know when it's time?_

"Trust me… you'll know. Now go, hurry."

_Before I could question anymore, I suddenly found myself lying in a strange bed._

* * *

Roxas groaned as he began to sit up… finding himself in a small, gray room. Looking around, the boy realized this must be some kind of prison because there was nothing but a bed here and some kind of energy of glass blocking the way out. _Where am I? … Some kind of alien prison?_ The Key to Destiny stood up from the bed, rubbing the back of his head, it was a dull ache but the pain was still there. Looking out from the energy glass thing, he saw someone running down there.

"Terra?" Roxas whispered to himself when he saw the man, but Terra didn't seem to notice him and seemed to be looking around frantically. "Terra! H-hey, up here!" he waved his arms back and forth, trying to get the guy's attention. _Apparently they caught Terra, but… how'd he get out?_

Terra frowned, still looking around as if unable to hear him. _Come on, come on…! Where could Roxas be!? He _has_ to be in one of those cells!_

Roxas frowned when he realized Terra couldn't hear him. "I wonder if my Keyblade could unlock this thing…" he frowned in thought before the Nobody summoned his Kingdom Key and shot a familiar light beam into the energy field that was blocking his way out. Thankfully, it managed to dissipate the energy without any problems. Roxas smiled as he jumped down, it was easy to glide down from there and landed right in front of Terra, surprising him! It was enough that Roxas had to quickly block the sudden jab of attack. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Terra! Relax, it's just me!"

Terra blinked slowly, still a bit shocked from the boy he was looking for just popping up- or rather fell from the sky- in front of him like that! "U-uh… sorry, Roxas." he frowned a bit, glancing up at the higher cells above him. _Come to think of it, it'd make sense for him to be up there if I was too… _"I didn't exactly expect you to land right in front of me like that…" Then he looked down at Roxas's Keyblade and raised an eyebrow. "...Why does your Keyblade look different? I've never seen you use that one before…"

"Huh? Oh, well sometimes my Keyblade can change depending on the keychain I put on it. Though I lost most of them, so it only has three forms, this one, that black one I call Oblivion and the white one I call Oathkeeper. This is its basic form, I call it the Kingdom Key." Roxas explained as he held it up for Terra to see. For some reason, now that Terra knows he's a Keyblade Wielder, he couldn't help but want to show it off a little bit to him. _Strange, I never felt like doing that before, not even with Axel._

The brown haired man blinked in surprise at that, looking the Keyblade over thoughtfully. "Really? You can use it with keychains, huh…?" he frowned a bit, glancing at his own Keyblade. "Come to think of it… I've found keychains in other worlds, but I never thought about using them on my own Keyblade…"

"Maybe you should try it then, it might help make your own Keyblade stronger." Roxas suggested before looking around. "... This almost looks like some kind of alien spaceship rather than a world."

Terra nodded, dispelling his Keyblade. _I'll consider what Roxas said when we're safer. _"Yeah, I think so too." he glanced around a second longer before turning and beginning to walk away. "Come on- we'd better get back to work. Who knows what Vanitas could do while we're stuck here."

Before either of the boys could walk forward, they heard someone calling to them, "Hey, wait! Please, you must be letting me out of here. They locked me up for no good reason!"

Roxas blinked as he turned to see who was talking to them, it appeared to be some kind of purple and pinkish alien, and it has four eyes, literally. Terra seems to have heard him too, because he frowned, "Why should we trust you? For all we know you got locked up for a good reason."

"No, please, you must be listening to me. They locked me up in here because of a cute, fluffy creature I made. He's small and harmless really, yet they're scared of him. Please let me out, I must be knowing if he is alright." the alien said.

Terra looked to be thinking about it while Roxas frowned and crossed his arms. "How do we know if you're even telling the truth? You could just be saying that so we'd help you. I'm sure they wouldn't have locked you up without a good reason."

"Then why did they lock you two up? Did you do something evil?" the alien asked them and that did make Roxas stop for a minute. "...You see? They will arrest anyone they think is dangerous, even if they were just defending themselves."

Roxas sighed, crossing his arms thoughtfully. _Well… he's not wrong there- that _did_ happen to me… _Finally, he shrugged, coming to a decision. "I suppose there isn't much wrong there… but what do you think, Terra- should we help?"

Terra frowned, but he sighed, slowly nodding. "I suppose we may as well- especially if they fear him for no real reason…" With that, he walked over to the nearby cell, unlocking it with his Keyblade. "Okay- take us to him."

The alien nodded and said, "My name is Dr. Jumba Jookiba- the name I give to adorable, fluffy creature you are helping for to rescue is Experiment 626."

* * *

Roxas was still unsure about this guy, but decided not to argue as Jumba began walking ahead of them. The boy followed along with Terra, both of them walking just behind the alien scientist. Along the way, they ran into a lot of Unversed, it seems they were invading the spaceship. Every time they did, Jumba would to find a place to hide and stay out of the way while Roxas and Terra took care of them. Roxas was just glad he wasn't alone and being constantly overwhelmed like the first time he was on board here.

Roxas quickly followed Terra ahead of Jumba, trying to make sure the area was clear. Roxas nodded to Terra who signaled for Jumba to follow. As they continued walking, Roxas asked, "So why do they think this Experiment 626 is dangerous if he is as harmless as you say he is?"

Jumba chuckled, seeming proud now. "Why, he is most destructive- ah, I mean, _constructive_ species of all time. He is bulletproof, fireproof, and can think faster than supercomputer. He can see in the dark and move objects 3,000 _times_ his rather diminutive size! Why, he could dispatch creatures you both fight with such difficulty as if pushing a ball from one side of room to the other!"

"He does sound rather dangerous." Terra commented. "But then… that doesn't mean he's evil."

Roxas nodded to Terra in agreement, but he still wondered… he hadn't missed Jumba's fumbles when he said 'destructive'. "But if he's small, how would we find him? This place is big and those soldiers are looking for us, and believe me when I say they can overwhelm you quite easily."

Jumba frowned a bit, still walking fast. "I had worked on this ship once- the Galactic Federation plans to banish him to far reaches of space! There's only one place they could keep him on ship- and we're heading straight for it!"

Terra and Roxas continued to follow the alien scientist. The Unversed were constantly popping up, Roxas briefly wondered where they were coming from since he hadn't sensed Vanitas anywhere near this place. The Nobody then struck down another Unversed before the door opened and there was a room with two gun-like cannons dangling down, as if they were inactive.

Roxas turned to Jumba, crossing his arms. "Is this the room you were talking about?" _This certainly _seems_ like a place to keep a dangerous and powerful creature…_

Jumba nodded, looking around. "Precisely. Now… Experiment 626 should be right… around… ah!" he walked forward into the room, where a blue creature with a red bodysuit was growling and spitting inside a small glass container. "Amazing, is he not? Such tremendous power inside itty-bitty package!"

"He seems like an angry dog to me… with rabies." Roxas commented, to which Terra elbowed lightly at his side. "You know… just saying."

Jumba took the glass that kept the little blue alien trapped and released him, he smiled proudly as 626 jumped at Terra suddenly and took something! "Whoa!"

"What the!?" Roxas jumped and saw the little blue alien landed on the floor, holding what appears to be… something that looked similar to the keychain to his Oathkeeper.

Terra's eyes widened in shock, and he grabbed one of his pockets. _Wha!? My Wayfinder! _"W-when did you-!?" he frowned, holding up a hand angrily. "Give that back!"

Jumba shrugged, walking back over to the two of them. "Too late, is already marked for destruction- as per his instincts."

Terra gasped, turning back to the blue fluffy creature. "No, stop! Don't destroy it- my friend gave me that!" Then he froze, glancing down at his hands in surprise. _…Aqua made it for me… but it felt so instinctive to just say she was my friend… Even though she was spying on me… do I still…?_

Roxas looked up at 626 for a minute, noticing the creature holding the Wayfinder curiously before it gave a brief growl and dropped it, climbing on the ceiling and crawling out the door. "... Terra, look, it dropped the Wayfinder." Roxas said, almost as if he couldn't believe it himself as Terra picked it up. _If he was meant to be a creature of destruction… why didn't he destroy it?_

Terra frowned a bit, holding the pendant in his hand as he stared at it. "...Funny…" he murmured to himself, as if forgetting anybody was there. "This whole time, I've been telling myself I want to be stronger, more independent… but…. the second I let my _heart_ do the talking, I find out how little I know _myself_… and how much I miss them…" he sighed, before putting the Wayfinder back in his pocket. "That experiment of yours… you sure about him? Maybe he really _does_ want friends in his heart, just like all of us."

Jumba gave a glare as he said, "That's nonsense! Experiment 626 was created for destruction, he doesn't care about friends. I will even demonstrate just how powerful my Experiments are!" he smirked as he held up a green little ball with the numbers 221 on it, and dropped it into a bottle of water, as soon as he did, the ball lit up brightly!

Roxas hissed as he had to shut his eyes for a second. "What are you doing!? I thought you wanted help!" When he was able to open his eyes again, there stood a yellow creature that looked similar to 626, only this one had much longer antennas and they were sparking with electricity, and its eyes were an electric blue, it growled at both of them.

* * *

"Meega nala queesta!" the bright yellow alien, 221 Roxas assumed it's called, yelled angrily at them as it began to fly and zipped around them!

Terra and Roxas frowned, quickly summoning their respective Keyblades to their hands. "We're gonna have to put a stop to this experiment, Roxas!" Terra called out. "You ready for another fight?"

"Always ready for a fight, Terra!" Roxas called back as the two dodge roll out of the way. Roxas managed to slide on the floor and whacked at 221! The lightning Experiment groaned a bit before it tried to zap Roxas, who countered with a quick Reflect spell, but he didn't escape completely unscatched, the little lightning bolt managed to zip past the barrier and shocked the Nobody a bit.

Roxas groaned as he was immediately reminded of Larxene and her nasty attitude and electricity, that girl was ruthless and merciless, but he shook his head, not having time to think about the past. Roxas saw Terra running at 221 and managed to get a good hit on the little alien before it zipped around, making it very difficult to hit. "Geez, this thing is even more annoying than a fly…"

Roxas quickly got to his feet as he threw his Keyblade like a boomerang, using Strike Raid. It managed to hit 221, but not enough to keep it down. 221, out of anger, built up electricity into its body and then unleashed a powerful bolt of lightning at both of them! Roxas tried to dodge it, but he was too close in range and got hit! "Ugh!" he rolled on the floor, he briefly noticed Terra rolling on the floor too, both of them got caught up in the powerful bolt attack.

Roxas hissed in annoyance when he heard Jumba laughing as he was enjoying the show. The Nobody wasn't going to take this sitting down, he grabbed his Keyblade after dropping it from the attack and charged, when he got close enough to the lightning experiment, he held up his Keyblade at it. "STOP!" he cast a quick Stop spell on it, making it unable to move, this gave Roxas the chance to attack wildly!

221 wasn't stopped for long though, it was able to move after about ten seconds and then tackled Roxas to the ground before it tried to fly away again. Thankfully, however, Terra apparently had recovered enough to use Shotlocks, he had been locking on during the ten second stop and began firing at it.

Roxas was in relief as Terra was firing, so he managed to get back up. "HEAL!" he used Cura on himself to get rid of the pain and numbing feeling he got after being zapped multiple times. However, it seemed 221 wasn't done yet, it became more and more desperate. As soon as Terra ran out of Shotlocks, the little lightning experiment flew right into the guns- it had literally phased into it, and as soon as it did, both of the cannon laser guns came to life and were aiming at both him and Terra!

Terra yelped, quickly dodging a laser fired right where his head would be! "Whoa! Ugh!" Unfortunately, not only was Terra a bit slower than Roxas, he was also bigger, so he got hit way more often. "R-Roxas! Strike the cannon the experiment went into!" he grunted, quickly casting Cure on himself. "Hurry! I'll keep them distracted!"

"Right!" Roxas called out as he began running towards the cannon he saw 221 went into. The Nobody was struck by the laser fire when he got in close, making it hard for him to try and hit it. Roxas grunted as he quickly got down to the floor, trying to keep from being seen or shot at. While 221 was concentrating on Terra, Roxas had to crawl in closer, trying not to be heard or seen. Finally, when the boy was close enough, he jumped and stabbed at the gun with his Kingdom Key.

221 didn't come out, but it did hiss in pain. Roxas continued to swipe at it, trying to get it to come out as it was still firing, only it couldn't focus on any target, it was just firing wildly everywhere!

Roxas yelped, barely dodging one of the cannon's lasers that had gotten close to him by chance! He grumbled, trying to think of a plan. _Maybe this experiment's like Larxene- they both rely on electricity… how would you defeat her, though? What's an elemental weakness for lightning?_ He barely dodged another incoming laser before thinking about it. _Water conducts electricity… maybe… if the ice melts it becomes water… I wonder…_

"FREEZE!" Roxas kept his Keyblade on the gun and used Blizzard, quickly freezing the gun and turning it to ice. "FIRE!" he quickly used Fire to melt the ice that was on the gun. _Please let this work!_ "Terra! Get back!" he suddenly yelled as he jumped away from the gun.

Terra blinked in surprise, but he didn't question Roxas as he quickly backed up. It was just in time too- the gun began sparking like crazy, and everybody could hear 221 screech in pain before a small explosion blew up the gun's barrel! The Experiment quickly flew out of the gun, grunting in pain and looked to be in a daze.

"NOW!" Roxas all but flung himself at the dazed alien and Terra quickly followed him. Both gave it a final whack to the head and as soon as they did, the Experiment glowed and turned back into a green ball before bouncing over to Jumba.

* * *

The scientist gasped in shock, quickly getting on his hands and knees. "Oh! You'll be alright, little one…" Then he blinked, noticing the two Keyblade Wielders storm up to him. "Eh?"

Roxas glared at the doctor and snapped, "What was _that_ for!? We were _trying_ to help you and you repay us by siccing your Experiment on us!?"

"It was simply to demonstrate the power of my Experiments." Jumba stated as if what he did wasn't anything wrong.

"You are twisted." Roxas grumbled. _But at least he's not as bad as Vexen, I wonder if all scientists are this twisted…_

Then Terra blinked, looking up and away from the crazy scientist. "Hang on… is that…?" Everyone looked over at a certain blue fuzzy alien, who now seemed a lot calmer- not to mention he wasn't growling anymore.

Jumba blinked, standing up. "What is it? Why have you returned, Experiment 626?" He clearly seemed confused, as if this was impossible behavior.

The little blue alien was looking at the two boys curiously, "Ter...ra… Rox...as…" he spoke in what sounded like broken English.

Roxas blinked, looking at Terra and at 626 again. "You… just said our names?" _What in the worlds? That's… kinda surprising…_

Terra blinked before walking over to the alien, giving a faint smile. "Maybe… he's curious about what a friend is." he crouched down, shrugging. "I can't explain friendship- because when you feel it, you'll _know_ it."

"Fri...end...ship." 626 repeated slowly, tilting his head as if slightly confused.

Terra gave a smile and Roxas couldn't help but give a small chuckle of his own, maybe the little guy isn't so bad after all. Suddenly the ship began to tremble and the intruder alarm went off!

"Sounds like they're on to us! We need to get out of here." Terra said to Roxas as he summoned his Keyblade and turning it into the Keyblade Glider.

Jumba and 626 both ran away before either of them could question it. Roxas frowned and he looked over at Terra, who just wore his armor again. "Come on Roxas, we need to go!"

Roxas was about to get on, but he remembered what that voice said, that he needed to stay… it wasn't time to leave yet, not for him anyway. "No Terra, I can't go with you." he suddenly said, catching the other Keyblade Wielder off guard.

Terra paused at that, looking at Roxas. "What? But Roxas, we can't stay here and get caught! I- …." He frowned, suddenly realizing something. "...You want to go your own way now, don't you?"

Roxas sighed as he nodded, turning back to the door. "Yeah, there's something I need to do here. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine, you just go on ahead. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon! Now go, I'll see you later!" Roxas said quickly as he saw the doors opening up and it was their cue to get out. The Nobody didn't have time to wave to Terra, just he quickly ran off, trying to find Jumba and 626 just as Terra called out for him.

"YOU BETTER BE ALIVE WHEN I SEE YOU AGAIN!" was all he heard from Terra before the doors shut behind him.

"Heh… thanks Terra." Roxas said to himself as he kept running. "I promise… I'll do just that…" He continued to run as fast as he could through the ship, occasionally ducking into a shadow to evade some guards.

* * *

**Key2DestNE: ….. *has his arms crossed, and is tapping his foot like a stern parent* Now what've we learned today, Fox?**

**DarkFoxKit: I don't know, what DID we learn today? Never trust an evil scientist that's locked up in jail?**

**Key2DestNE: *facepalm* Well yes, that's true, but also, DON'T GO AND IRRITATE HIM BECAUSE YOU'RE IRRITATED! … *ahem* Sorry 'bout that guys, Fox has a slightly bad habit of using crazy ways of letting out her anger. Now then, uh… did you all like the chapter?**

**DarkFoxKit: No, don't just tell you like it, tell us WHY you like it. We seriously have NOTHING to say in this part of the AN. … Well… I guess I could say that Roxas sure put up one heck of a fight against those Unversed and alien soldiers that went after him.**

**Key2DestNE: Heck yeah he did! And did you all like how we're making our Keyblade Wielders more characterized? Sure, Terra learned something in the games here, but he's also shown to be nicer when he wants to be in our version, so our Terra is a bit better in my opinion!**

**DarkFoxKit: And get used to seeing Stic- I mean 626, Roxas is gonna be in that spaceship for a while. Anyway, Key, do you have anything else to say?**

**Key2DestNE: ...Hmmm… Well, not really to be honest. You've kinda made most of it clear. *begins ticking numbers off* Review, do more than a single sentence please, help Fox with her Webroot issues-**

**DarkFoxkKit: Okay, okay, they get it! Whether or not they review more than one sentence is up to them, but in that case, expect later updates. Okay, we'll see you guys next time!**


	12. Chapter 11: Space Survival

**DarkFoxKit: Hey people! Well the good news is I have Google Chrome back- the bad news is, my computer's locked on to the wrong time, and even when I changed it, it changed itself back to that time, so I can't do anything about it. Anyways, enough about that, I'm sure you all came here to read more of Roxas's Story!**

**Key2DestNE: Right- let's see, this chapter is aboooout… Ah, right- a bit more of the alien ship!**

**DarkFoxKit: In case you guys haven't noticed, we're having Roxas stay on the world-spaceship for all three stories of Terra, Aqua and Ventus. Since the story's coming closer towards the end, we wanted to slow it down a bit, and Deep Space has some of the best stories of Birth By Sleep in my opinion.**

**Key2DestNE: *chuckles, nudging her side* You just want more of 626, don't you Fox? In case you couldn't tell, dear reviewers, she LOVES the little blue alien~!**

**DarkFoxKit: H-hey! Since when did I say I like 626? He's a cute, little, destructible little alien, but that doesn't mean I LIKE him! Besides, you have to admit, it's fun putting Roxas in there as a fugitive.**

**Key2DestNE: *chuckles* Well then, I suppose we should stop talking for now and let you all get to reading the chapter. So let's begin!**

**DarkFoxKit: Hey… you didn't do the disclaimer!**

**Key2DestNE: Oh, right- my bad! ^^' We don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters, only how Roxas affects the story.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Space Survival**

Roxas wasn't sure how long he's been on this spaceship… it could've been only a few minutes, it could've been hours or even days for all he knew. The young time traveler was hiding in the shadows, he had been looking for Jumba or 626 since Terra left, but he hadn't found either of them… _Were they captured? Are they in prison again?_

Roxas wasn't sure if he wanted to go back the way he came to see if they were back in prison, but the place itself was a bit confusing, so he wasn't sure if he could even remember where to go back. _Should've tried to memorize the place…_

The Nobody began moving again when he saw the cost was clear, but then that mysterious guy in the cloak was there when he turned the corner, surprising him. "Whoa! … It's you…" Roxas said when he saw the guy. The mysterious guy in the cloak was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, but still didn't say anything. "What do you want? What are you doing here?" Roxas demanded.

The mysterious person picked something out from his pocket and tried to hand it to Roxas. The time traveler blinked before he noticed the thing in its hand… it looked like a green Wayfinder. "...Why do you have that? Come on, at least say _something_!"

"...Heh." The figure chuckled slightly, shaking his head in amusement. "You don't get it, do you?" Roxas blinked at that, caught off-guard. "You'll see soon enough, Roxas… Trust me."

"Huh? What?" Roxas frowned as the figure dropped the Wayfinder into his hand.

"See you later, stay alive for me, Roxas!" the figure said before disappearing into a Dark Corridor!

"Hey, wait!" The young Nobody frowned when it was gone. _… That voice… it sounded so familiar…_

* * *

Suddenly the Key to Destiny heard footsteps, and he didn't have time to think about it anymore as he put the Wayfinder into his pocket and quickly dived into the walls to try and hide while these footsteps came closer.

Roxas could hear how heavy the footsteps are, it was that big alien. He didn't know his name, but he had seen him a few times. The big alien was walking but there was someone smaller in front of him, someone with blue hair… Roxas's eyes widened in shock. _Aqua? When did _she_ get here?!_

It appears that the big alien officer was leading her somewhere. Concerned for his friend, Roxas slowly came out from the shadows as they passed by, and he walked slowly behind them. _I kinda wished I kept my coat… it would've made this sneaking around a lot easier._

Finally, they entered a short corridor, and the alien glanced back at Roxas's friend. "I said, stay close!" Aqua huffed, as if a bit annoyed by that, but she kept walking beside him, neither of them noticing the Nobody slide in past the door just as it closed right behind him.

Roxas briefly wondered to himself if he should attack that big alien. It might be helpful to have Aqua around helping him, but he didn't want to cause any more unwanted trouble here. The Nobody decided not to attack unless the big guy threatens and hurts Aqua, he stayed close behind them until they entered a bigger room, where there was this majestic green alien.

The alien turned around, frowning sternly. "Captain Gantu, did I not order you to apprehend the fugitives _immediately_?" She narrowed her eyes dangerously, crossing her arms behind her back.

"W-well yes of course, Grand Council Woman! But I did find this suspicious one walking around." Gantu said, gesturing to Aqua. "I figured you would like to speak with her first."

Aqua, being the polite girl that she is, walked slowly in front of the Grand Council Woman and gave a respectful bow. "Please forgive me your Honor, but I was just following some Unversed into this ship, I meant no harm- my name is Aqua."

The Grand Council Woman frowned at that, looking Aqua over while maintaining her presence. "I see… you seem to be similar to those other two that we had captured… perhaps you know of them?"

"Other two?" Aqua questioned, blinking in surprise.

The Grand Council Woman nodded, turning back to the monitor behind her. "Yes, they were your species. One of them was a tall one with dark brown hair and blue eyes. The other one looked much younger with blond spiky hair and also blue eyes."

Aqua thought about it and said, frowning in thought. "That sounds like Terra and Ven… or maybe Roxas. They're here?" She looked up at the alien in front of her, and was surprised to see her shake her head. "...They aren't? What happened?"

Captain Gantu grumbled, crossing his arms angrily. "They're two of the prisoners that escaped- and unfortunately, we haven't found them. But one of them was extremely dangerous- if you're the same as them…"

"No, I'm sure they didn't mean any harm. Please, allow me to look for them, I'm sure I can help." Aqua said, hoping they'd listen to reason. Gantu didn't seem all that willing, but the Grand Council Woman seemed more than understanding.

"You seem like a nice young girl. I'll give you a chance, but you must apprehend Dr. Jumba and his dangerous little monstrosity Experiment 626." the high alien said to her. "Is that understood?"

Aqua nodded, standing up straight. "Of course- and if I may help you in destroying the Unversed?"

The Grand Council Woman nodded, giving a small smile. "As you wish- after all, these monsters you mentioned are obstructing attempts to apprehend them. But if you find these two fugitives… do your best to apprehend them _intact_."

Aqua gave another bow and said, "Yes ma'am, I'll do what I can."

* * *

Aqua turned and walked out the door. Gantu was about to follow her, but the Grand Council Woman stopped him, holding up a hand. "Now where do you think you're going, Captain Gantu?"

The big alien spluttered a bit, seeming surprised. "W-why I- I was just about to continue _my_ job!" He frowned a bit, seeming upset.

"Aqua can handle this on her own, you just keep disappointing me. You go and help defend the ship from any more of those monsters. Do I make myself clear, Captain?" she asked with a sturdy tone in her voice.

Roxas couldn't help but give a silent snicker before he noticed Aqua was getting further away. As much as the Nobody would like to stick around and see what happens to that troublesome Gantu, he had to follow her, hoping to get her alone so he could talk to her.

Aqua ran into some Unversed, but because she's not a fugitive on this ship, she could easily take care of them without the worry of being ambushed. The Nobody wondered how he's going to talk to her, the place was full of cameras and if they find him they'll arrest him on the spot before he could explain himself.

He grumbled under his breath, just now realizing something. _If I hadn't gotten rid of that cloak, this wouldn't be so hard! Ugh… Great… Hmm- maybe I can find a place without a camera? …But there's only _one_ place with that! The question is; how do I lead her to it? … I guess there's one thing I could try… but she might not like it._

Roxas crawled through the hallways, trying to get a good distance from Aqua, then he summoned his Keyblade to whack the metal floor, making a loud noise, getting Aqua's attention. _That's right, come right this way… C'mon… _He banged the floor again, and soon, he heard familiar footsteps. Roxas quickly moved ahead again, trying to keep a comfortable distance from her as he kept banging his Keyblade on the walls or floor, leading her. Roxas had to get faster each time Aqua picked up her pace, until he finally got into the room he was looking for.

As soon as Roxas dispelled his Keyblade in that room, Aqua rushed in, her Keyblade at the ready before noticing Roxas in front of her. She blinked in surprise, looking around. "Wha? Roxas?" She frowned in confusion, slowly walking over to him and carefully avoiding a bit of debris from some broken laser cannons. "What are you doing here? Where are we?"

"This is where they keep dangerous prisoners…" Roxas answered, crossing his arms. "Um… Aqua, I-"

"What are you doing here? I thought I told Ventus to take you back to the Land of Departure!" Aqua scolded him.

Roxas groaned at that, having forgotten that she had told them that. "Aqua, please listen!"

"And where's Terra? I heard he was here too." Aqua asked him.

"He's not here right now, but-" Again, she interrupted him.

"What!? He left you here all alone!?" Aqua snapped. _What was he THINKING!? I can't believe that man!_

"AQUA!" Roxas shouted, getting her attention. "Look, I_ wanted_ to stay behind. There's something I need to do here, but first I need to find 626 and Jumba-"

Aqua blinked in surprise. "You're looking for them too? Why?" _…Oh no- don't tell me Roxas is corrupted now! That… I can't believe it- he's not only a fugitive, but he's looking for other dangerous criminals in here too?!_

"Please don't interrupt me until I'm finished." Roxas grumbled. "It's all a big misunderstanding, Terra and I were chasing some Unversed here and they thought we were intruders so they locked us up. They probably think I'm dangerous because I fought back against them before they knocked me out, but I was only defending myself! And anyway, Jumba and 626 are not as bad as you think… I think one of them wants to be our friend, Aqua."

The blue haired woman blinked at that, slowly relaxing her stance. "...They want to be our friend? What in the worlds are you talking about, Roxas?" _…That blue fluffy experiment didn't seem vicious, yes… but… something's not adding up…_

"It's hard to explain, but-" there was a sudden tremor. "I just know I have to find them. Since I'm a fugitive here, I have to keep hiding, which makes it hard for me to find them since I can't move freely here."

Aqua blinked in surprise before she frowned a bit, crossing her arms. "Well… if it _is_ a misunderstanding, maybe I can clear things up- but first I have to destroy some Unversed. Roxas, please stay here- don't leave this room unless you absolutely have to!"

"Come on Aqua, I can't just stay here!" Roxas protested. "I have to keep moving- I know you're worried, but…"

Aqua frowned worriedly, crossing her arms. "But Roxas, if I leave you right now, I'm not sure I'll be able to find you again if you just leave!"

"That's okay Aqua, because I'm coming with you." Roxas said suddenly. "I'm sure once they see me fighting with you against the Unversed they'll realize I'm not a criminal!"

Aqua gasped, blinking in surprise. "W-what? Roxas… you're coming with me? But you said it yourself- right now you're a fugitive!" _If he's caught again… what will they do to him? That Captain Gantu didn't seem to enjoy being told what to do…_

"It'll be fine Aqua, if I get caught, I know how to escape. I've done it before." Roxas said with a grin. "Don't worry about me, but we can't stay here, the tremors are getting stronger, we have to go now."

Before Aqua could argue, Roxas hurried out the door, calling behind him, "Come on!" He quickly summoned his Keyblade and began fighting off the Unversed in the hallway.

Aqua blinked in surprise, but she sighed, reluctantly joining him. _Roxas just does _not_ like to listen, does he…? _"Well… alright- but apparently Unversed are attacking the outside of the ship… You'll have to join me for this."

Roxas nodded to her as the two began working their way up the ship. Roxas suddenly felt like the gravity changed and became lighter and… floaty. "Whoa! What happened to the gravity!?"

Aqua chuckled a bit, seeing how childish Roxas could be sometimes. "Well, it's what happens when we're in space, Roxas- gravity becomes a lot less powerful." _…Perhaps I should keep him here, just in case- it'd be a quick job, anyways… and I'd rather not lose him, again…_

"But we're not outside the ship yet! Did someone turn off the artificial gravity or something?" Roxas asked her as he jumped and actually went up high. "WHOA! That was… AWESOME!" he grinned excitedly as he began jumping again, going higher and higher. "This makes climbing the ship a lot easier, Aqua!"

Aqua chuckled slightly in amusement as she followed him at the top, ruffling Roxas's hair as she walked past him. "Well, come on, Roxas- we don't want the ship to be damaged while we're on it." She continued to walk back to where she first came in, sometimes glancing back to see if Roxas was following.

* * *

Aqua soon stopped at a door and said, "Here, this is where we need the armor." She tapped her armor and appeared on her body in a flash of light.

"I don't get it… how does armor help you breathe in space?" Roxas asked her as she transformed her Keyblade into the Keyblade Glider.

Aqua smiled mysteriously, patting Roxas's shoulder. "I'll explain it when we're not using it or fighting Unversed, okay? For now, hop on, Roxas."

The young Nobody grabbed her shoulder as he got onto the Glider, allowing the armor to cover his body and the Glider flew out of the ship before turning around and landing on the roof. There they saw almost an army of Unversed messing around!

"Here they come!" Roxas shouted from in the armor. _That's almost as many as the ones Terra and I fought!_

"Summon your Keyblade!" Aqua yelled back as she began to use her Glider to fly around the roof of the spaceship. Roxas nodded, summoning Oathkeeper this time as he began firing spells off to pick each Unversed off from a distance.

Then, to Aqua's surprise, one of the poles latched onto the Keyblade Glider and spun her around a bit before it launched her towards another swarm of Unversed! "Whoa!" She managed to hold on, glancing back worriedly at Roxas. "You okay?!"

"I'm fine!" Aqua was relieved to see Roxas was still behind her. "Think you could launch yourself using that pillar thing over there?" Feeling a bit dizzy but quickly recovering, he used his Keyblade to point at the incoming pole.

"I can certainly try!" Aqua said as she began moving the glider over. Roxas used some basic magic and weak Shotlocks to keep the Unversed off them. Aqua used her Keyblade to swing them around and around, going faster the longer she swung them, destroying a lot of the Unversed around them… and making Roxas sick.

After she let go, it caused the Keyblade Glider to shoot at the Unversed and destroyed a lot of them. "That was… so… disorientating…" Roxas groaned.

Aqua felt a bit nervous at how much Roxas was swaying behind her, but she glanced around. "We've only got a few more Unversed to defeat, Roxas. Can you hang on that long?"

Roxas nodded, keeping the bile down. "I'll be fine, just keep fighting!" he threw his Keyblade like a boomerang, again, utilizing Strike Raid. It certainly helped with destroying a lot of the Unversed. Aqua was actually kind of surprised that he threw it like that, the only other person she knew who would throw their Keyblade like that was Ven. "I got the ones from behind, you focus on the ones in front!"

Aqua nodded, still a bit surprised at his technique, but she adjusted her Keyblade Glider so it would shoot arrows, and with their battle strategy, they quickly finished off the last few Unversed. "We're done, Roxas! C'mon, let's- hmm?" She blinked, noticing a small twinkle a little ways ahead of them. _What in the worlds is that…?_

Roxas blinked when he felt the Keyblade Glider moving ahead. "What're you-" He stopped when he saw she grabbed something… it looked like another Wayfinder, which reminded him of the one that mysterious figure gave to him. "Is that… a Wayfinder? What's it doing way out here?"

Aqua frowned under her armor, examining the Wayfinder. "This… this looks like the Wayfinder that 626 was carrying around when I met him earlier…"

"Wait… 626 made a Wayfinder?" Roxas was surprised by this… but then again, perhaps he and Terra had made a bigger impact on the little alien than he thought. "I guess he'll be wanting it back then, huh?"

Aqua nodded, frowning thoughtfully. "I suppose so… We'd better find him so we can return it to him." With that, she flew the Keyblade Glider back inside the ship before dispelling both it and the armor.

As soon as they did, Roxas turned to his blue-haired friend. "Aqua, do you know where 626 is right now? Like I said, I've been looking for him."

Aqua frowned a bit, slowly shaking her head. "No idea… but I can't help but feel like he's in another part of the ship- maybe even where we met up."

"Really? But why would he go back there?" Roxas thought to himself. "He's a fugitive on this ship too… how long could he hide?"

Aqua shrugged, beginning to walk forward. "If he hides in the ventilation shafts at times? Possibly forever- it wouldn't be hard…"

"..." Roxas had an idea though. "Maybe not… I think 626 might be looking for Terra and me, and he might try to go back to the prison cells we were in to find any clues."

Aqua blinked in surprise, turning to Roxas. "Huh? What do you mean?" _I know Terra was here… but… _"...Experiment 626 met Terra?"

"Yes, he did." Roxas said before suddenly running ahead of her. "Come on Aqua! I want to see if I'm right!" Aqua was surprised at how fast the Nobody could run, but she quickly hurried after him.

Roxas opened the electronic door back into the prison chamber that the aliens threw him in when he first arrived with Terra. He looked around for a minute just as Aqua caught up to him, and before she could speak, Roxas noticed something blue and red at a nearby corner. "There!" he ran forward, forcing Aqua to quickly catch up once more.

Aqua panted a bit to catch her breath before her eyes widened, seeing some Unversed appear behind both Roxas and 626! "Huh!?" The Unversed jumped into the air and were about to attack them when she called out, "LOOK OUT!" Right after saying that, she jumped into the air and slashed them all out of existence. _T-that was close… Roxas may have a Keyblade, but he didn't see those Unversed coming- he's still a kid after all!_

Roxas turned around and said with a smile, "Thanks Aqua!" before kneeling down to the little blue alien. Experiment 626 seemed to be smiling, as if happy he found Roxas. "I'm glad you're okay 626, but where's Jumba?"

"Got… separated." 626 said, as if trying to speak in English. "Rox...as… where… Ter...ra?"

"He's not here right now, but…" Roxas looked up when he noticed Aqua's shadow. "Oh, hey Aqua, this is Experiment 626- we just met a while ago, but I guess you could call us friends."

Aqua frowned a bit, sighing. "I suppose… but I have orders to take him in, you know that Roxas." Experiment 626 blinked, but he shook his head.

"Terra!" he said, before beginning to scuttle away. Roxas and Aqua both blinked in surprise at that- what did he mean by that?

Aqua quickly walked after him, still a bit confused. "But before I do anything about that… I think you and I need to talk." _What did he mean, 'Terra'? Roxas told him that Terra wasn't here right now… why is 626 still looking for him?_

Roxas sighed and turned to her. "What do you want to talk about, Aqua?" he had an idea of what she wanted to say to him, but he might as well hear her out.

Aqua shrugged, glancing at him. "Well… I'm curious as to why 626 said-" Right before she could finish her statement, Unversed suddenly surrounded both of them, making her groan a bit. "But… first things first…" She then summoned her Keyblade, which made Roxas blink- now it looked like it was covered in flowers!

"Whoa! Did you change your Keyblade?" Roxas blinked before noticing her keychain was different. _Oh, I get it now, she must've found out that her Keyblade can change shape and power depending on the keychain she uses._ "Alright, here we go." he summoned the Kingdom Key to his hands, and 626 suddenly shot some of the Unversed with his own plasma gun.

Roxas's eyes widened in surprise, he didn't think 626 would help them fight, but he smiled as he and Aqua began fighting. The Nobody was happy that he actually had some help fighting the Unversed off, because the last time he tried to take on a horde of them by himself it didn't end so well, although most of it was due to the soldiers rather than the Unversed themselves.

To his surprise, 626 really did seem to be dangerous- although thankfully, it was to the Unversed and not to the two Keyblade Wielders, he already had a bad experience with another Experiment. The alien would use his plasma blasters a lot, but occasionally he would slash with his claws, and he even dive bombed on one of them! Aqua had clearly gotten a lot stronger as well- not only was her spells a lot more powerful, but she was easily dispatching the weaker of the Unversed with a single slash!

Roxas managed to jump out of a bigger Unversed way before it could pound him, and he stabbed into its gut with his Kingdom Key, destroying it. The boy looked around and said, "Aqua?" He saw her cartwheeling away from an Unversed, but that's not what got his attention, he saw something on the ceiling and suddenly something was speeding along the air and heading right at Aqua! Without thinking, Roxas dived over to her and managed to deflect the thing, and when he did, he could tell it was a sharp arrow, made of small red energy and it disappeared as soon as it hit the ground.

"Are you okay Aqua?" Roxas asked her as he tried to find the person who shot at her. _Is Braig here? Why would he be out in the middle of space? He should be back in Radiant Garden!_

Aqua blinked at him in confusion, nodding. "Of course, Roxas- why?" She hadn't noticed the arrow being shot at her, and because of it, she thought Roxas was just acting odd… again. But she couldn't consider it for long, as she pointed her Keyblade back at the Unversed that she was cartwheeling away from and fired three fireballs in succession, destroying it.

All the Unversed were soon taken out, but the mysterious shooter, whom Roxas was sure is Braig, was nowhere to be seen. _Where did he go?_ Roxas briefly wondered to himself before turning to Aqua and 626.

The alien was still looking around suspiciously and growling, as if expecting more enemies, but Aqua dispelled her Keyblade, walking up to 626. "Thanks… I owe you one. What is it you're looking for?"

"Terra!" 626 said suddenly before he turned around and ran off through a nearby door.

"Wait! I need to ask what-" Aqua frowned as the little blue alien just ran off.

Roxas ran ahead, calling back, "I'll go and make sure he'll be okay."

"No Roxas, we can't split up, especially since you're a fugitive here!" Aqua scolded.

"Well then hurry up! I don't want to lose sight of him!" Roxas called to her as he ran out the door.

Aqua ran to follow, but as soon as she got near the door, a red thing suddenly flew past her head and hit the control panel to the electronic door, causing it to slam shut and making it inoperable!

* * *

Roxas jumped and turned around after hearing the door shut, frowning in confusion. "Aqua? What happened?"

"Heh…" A familiar voice spoke up, and Roxas tensed up, quickly whirling around to see Braig. Only… he had a familiar eyepatch on his face, along with a jagged scar on his jaw. "_I_ happened, that's what." He grinned cockily, holding his two Arrowguns loosely in his hands. "Nice to see you again, tiger! Whatcha been up to, huh?"

Roxas was staring at him as if stunned and couldn't decide on who he was. "... Xigbar?" he questioned, still confused.

The man blinked in confusion. "...Xigbar? Oh come on, you're calling me that _again_? As if- my name's Braig, kid! Remember it this time." He frowned a bit at the name mix-up, but he quickly relaxed once more. "Eh… whatever- not like it's too important, really." He smirked, holding his Arrowguns up and aiming them at the Nobody in front of him. "Now then… you gonna be a good kiddy and follow me? Or are we gonna have to get rough?"

Roxas could hear Aqua banging on the door with her Keyblade, trying to either get it to open or break it down, but apparently neither of those options was happening. "I'm going to find another way around, Roxas!" he heard her shout from the other side of the door. "You stay safe, okay?" she called out before her footsteps quickly lead her away from the two of them.

Roxas couldn't help but think of the irony of what she just said. _Great, I'm having a gun pointed at my chest and she tells me to stay safe._ "Are you here to test me again or something?"

Braig chuckled, shaking his head. "As if- nah, this time I've been ordered to take you in. You're pretty tough, I've gotta admit- but this time, I'm allowed to use as much force as needed. So… what's it gonna be, Roxas?"

"Why are you taking me in? It's not like you've known me for long." Roxas said, mostly to try and stall for time, and he wanted to know why the heck he's being chased… again. _First the Organization and now even the past is trying to hunt me down. Is this going to be a regular thing with me?_

Braig shrugged, still seeming pretty relaxed. "Hey, don't ask me- I'm just followin' orders. If you want a reason, ask the one I'm bringing you to, he knows more than me!"

Roxas watched Braig for a second, the two seemed to be analyzing each other in their own way. "...And if I refuse?"

Braig smirked, his finger tensing on the trigger of one of his Arrowguns. "Well then… if you refuse, it's hunting season." Roxas frowned, noting the area around him- it looked eerily similar to where he fought the older man last time, including a ledge high enough that the Nobody wouldn't be able to reach him without using a Shotlock.

The Nobody slowly raised his hands, as if signifying he was going to give up. Braig smirked at that, lowering his Arrowguns slightly, but Roxas was far from giving up, and before the freeshooter could even blink, the boy suddenly kicked his knee and Dodge Rolled quickly before Braig could get back up! When he was a good distance away, Roxas summoned Oathkeeper again and immediately shot out three fireballs as he had seen Aqua do. "FIRE!" It wasn't as good as Aqua's, but hanging around a pyro user almost all his short life did help make it strong enough to be effective.

Braig grunted in pain as one of the fireballs smacked him right in the face, but he merely smirked. "Heh- you call that pain, brat?" He didn't hesitate to fire this time, and the arrows quickly began to fill the air, sizzling as they flew right at Roxas. "Thanks to your friend Terra, I'm used to a lot more than that tiny flame could do! Although I love how you lured me to a false sense of security, you do whatever it takes to defeat your enemies."

Roxas deflected the arrows and slide on the ground to avoid more arrows shooting above his head and he jumped to hit Braig on the side. "What are you talking about? When did you see Terra!?" Roxas snapped as he quickly summoned Reflect around himself before the arrows could hit him.

Braig chuckled, firing off one or two more arrows as he teleported right behind Roxas and punched him right in the back of the head! "That's for me to know and you to find out, tiger- maybe I'll tell you more if you put up a good enough fight!" Then he laughed, teleporting away once more. "Then again, you're tough enough as it is- especially with your sneakiness!"

The young Nobody glared as he shot at Braig with his magic. "THUNDER!" He managed to bring down a lightning bolt to shock Braig, but it wasn't enough to do a lot of damage. Roxas had to try and Dodge Roll out of the way again as Braig was shooting at him rapidly. Like before, Roxas was waiting until he had to stop and reload before he tried to strike again, but Braig teleported out of his reach.

"I can see you~" Braig taunted again as he began shooting at Roxas from a far distance like last time.

Annoyed, Roxas ran around trying to avoid some of the shots before he began trying to deflect them back at his face. Braig hissed in pain at each deflected shot, he had noticed Roxas himself had gotten stronger and faster himself, and he chuckled as he teleported back down and began shooting again.

Roxas hissed in pain when he felt some of the arrows being shot at his back, but he managed to keep from getting hit too much as he jumped and swung Oathkeeper at Braig's arm, who used his Arrowgun to block it. "What happened to your face?" Roxas demanded him as they were at a stalemate.

The eyepatch wearer grinned a bit, trying to push Roxas away. "Heh- you can thank your friend Terra for that! You know, you may have beaten me a bit last time, but he's a _lot_ stronger than you, tiger!"

Roxas glared as he pushed back. "A lot stronger you say?" _Why would Terra do that to someone? I mean… he doesn't seem to be the type of guy who would hurt someone so much that it would cause a scar and eye damage…_ "What did you do to make him hurt you like that?"

Braig laughed, finally pushing Roxas away and firing off a few shots right at the Nobody's gut. "What, you think little ol' me did something to him? As if! He's just a fighter, plain and simple- unlike you, Roxas. You use your head, unlike those Keyblade Wielders you call friends!"

Roxas stood up as he glared, his magic energy was low after using a lot of it earlier, so he slowly dug into his pocket to get an Ether. "What do you mean by that? I'm not the only one who uses my head in battle. Aqua's very intelligent when she fights, her creativity with her magic proves that, Ven uses speed to outmaneuver his opponents, and Terra uses his own strategy since he's slower than the three of us."

Braig shook his head, growing more and more amused with each passing moment as he fired off a couple shots that made a few sharp turns and slammed right into Roxas's back. "Oh? Well, do you think they'd kick me in the leg?" Roxas blinked at that, surprised. "Oh come on- you're the only one who's gonna fight dirty, tiger! And I respect you for that, unlike the Keyblade."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Roxas snapped. "If I didn't do anything you would've shot me in a fatal area!" The boy may be smart, but he does seem easily agitated, which Braig noticed.

The older opponent shook his head in amusement, dodging as Roxas tossed his Keyblade towards Braig. "Maybe, but it's 'dishonorable', don't ya think? Heck, I'm surprised you didn't know about that considering all Keyblade Masters pound that into every student's head, but you're smarter than that- you use absolutely _anything _you can to defeat your opponents, dishonorable or not!"

This confused Roxas, he managed to down his Ether while dodging Braig's shots, but what he said bothered the Nobody. Because of Roxas's past and that he was basically raised by Organization XIII, they always told him to fight by any means necessary, there was no such thing as 'honor' in their book, just fight and win. "Dishonorable? Does it really matter what method you use to fight? In the end it's usually fighters just hitting each other and trying to come out on top."

Roxas, of course, knew that there were some exceptions to that, like in a sporting tournament like the Struggle, there were rules and regulations. And he's also aware of how some people uses the 'coward's way' by holding hostages. But normally when in a life or death battle situation, he didn't really think too much on 'fighting honorably', just that he needed to survive and get the upper hand however he could.

Braig, by this point, was half considering dropping his Arrowguns and just laugh, but if he did, he knew his employer wouldn't be happy. So he fired off a few shots and continued to taunt the boy. "You must have a really interesting Master then- most Keyblade Masters, Eraqus included, teach that you shouldn't use 'dishonorable' tactics to defeat an opponent! Heck, maybe _I_ should go to him, I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

The young time traveler frowned at this before he guarded against more shots, and they hit Braig while he laughed. Roxas glared, but the battle was hard to concentrate with the freeshooter's constant taunts. "I still don't understand what's so dishonorable with the way I fight!" Then he gasped when Braig suddenly got close to his face!

Braig shrugged, slamming Roxas's head into his knee before shoving the poor Nobody away. "Hey, I've got nothing against it- it's most Keyblade Wielders themselves that'd hate your tactics, tiger! I actually respect you for it, really I do! Now I'm starting to see why my employer has such an interest in you… Hey, maybe you can get Terra to follow your tactics too- he's already halfway there after all!"

Roxas had it with this guy, he didn't really like Xigbar and this guy was just as bad if not worse! The boy used Aeroga to create what was essentially a tornado around him, causing the arrow shots to completely miss before he jumped and glided suddenly at Braig, who was caught off guard by this since he didn't see Roxas glide the first time they fought! Roxas's Oathkeeper glowed with electricity, he was using some Thunder magic and fusing it into his Keyblade before he slashed at Braig's gut, causing him to recoil and gave Roxas the chance to combo him into the ground!

When both of them landed, though Braig harshly and Roxas on his feet, the Nobody used Cura to heal himself from most of the damage before he watched Braig, wondering if the battle was over or not.

Groaning in pain, the man slowly stood up, leaning on one of his Arrowguns, before he suddenly began to laugh. Roxas flinched at the sudden hysterical sound. "Ahahaha! Oh man… Not bad, tiger! Not bad at all!" He glanced up, giving a slightly feral grin. "Guess you don't need armor after all- not with your tactics…" He shook his head, still amused as he pulled out a Hi Potion and uncorked it. "Geez… You nearly hit as hard as Terra…"

Roxas panted from exhaustion, but he was still battle ready, glaring. "Was that supposed to be funny?"

"As if! I should learn by now not to mess with you Keyblade Wielders, such an annoyance." Braig chuckled humorlessly.

"So what? Aren't you still going to try and take me in on whoever's orders?" Roxas demanded.

The older man shrugged, smirking weakly. "Heh… Of course- but not right now, I'm not stupid ya know." He groaned a bit, rubbing his side in pain. "Ugh, that's gonna sting for a few days… Not any worse than what Terra did, though…"

"... Why would Terra do that… to you?" Roxas asked almost too quietly, he was still confused as to why someone like Terra would do such a thing to a person. Roxas wasn't a stranger to death or permanent scars or damage, but it shocked him that_ Terra _of all people would do something like that.

Braig's smirk grew as he noticed Roxas's growing worry and doubt. "Heh… Don't worry, he wouldn't do it if he had a choice- he just got too angry and went into his pool of untapped power like you do every fight."

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing." Roxas spat. "At least I didn't try to finish you off when I _should_." _Mostly because I _can't_, because if I do, Xigbar wouldn't exist and that would just mess everything up._

Braig chuckled weakly, shaking his head softly. "Perhaps, perhaps not… but you want an answer to what Terra did?" Straightening his back, he reached up and pulled up his eyepatch, to Roxas's shock. "Well… he did _this_."

The time traveler shook his head and glared, specifically not looking at the dark hole in the man's eye socket. "I didn't ask _what_ he did… I asked _why _he did it." Roxas then looked up again, frowning a bit. "Well… if you're not going to fight anymore, then just leave. I have some friends to find."

Braig chuckled dryly, shrugging as he began to walk away. "I suppose, tiger… It's too bad, though- you'd be nearly unstoppable if you had armor, too… But I guess it makes sense, really…"

"I don't need any armor." Roxas said with a frown. "I don't call myself a true Keyblade Wielder. You wonder why my 'Master' never gave me armor?" By this, he's referring to Xemnas since he's the closest person to be his master.

Braig glanced back, smirking. "Heh… As if- after all, you're nothing like the old man said most Keyblade Wielders are… if anything, you're a loose cannon- and a loose cannon can be pretty powerful…" He chuckled a bit more as a Corridor of Darkness opened up in front of him. "Well then… I'll see you some other time, tiger…"

When Braig disappeared, leaving Roxas alone to his thoughts, and the Nobody couldn't help but think… _A loose cannon? … Wait, 'old man'? … Vanitas said 'old coot' before… and the only 'real bad guy' I've come across was Xehanort and he looks pretty old… I wonder…_ Roxas frowned as he began walking down the corridor of the ship, beginning to see just who is the real mastermind behind all this.

* * *

**DarkFoxKit: Soooo…. did you guys like it? Did you like Roxas's interaction with Aqua? Did you like Roxas's rematch battle against Braig?**

**Key2DestNE: *chuckles* I'm sure they'll tell us in their reviews Fox, you can calm down! I think they've learned their lesson about not leaving one-line reviews like "It's good".**

**DarkFoxKit: Some of them still do. But anyway… I get it, we didn't spell the Magic Spells right, but honestly, it's been a long time since I last played it- and I don't pay attention to the spelling of the magic, I just remember there are 'gs' and 'as' in it. Also, about that black coat, if you recall, we said in another AN that the coat isn't gone forever, just for a while.**

**Key2DestNE: Hmm… anything else? ...Ah- here's one reviewer semi-complaining about so many mysteries and so few answers! Heh… Well, I'll let you take this one, Fox.**

**DarkFoxKit: That's a complaint? I see that as a more eager type thing than a complaint. They really want to see more to answer those questions. As for who is in that black coat… you'll find out very soon. I think you will in the next chapter even!**

**Key2DestNE: Hmm… Yeah, there aren't many questions this time around. Heh… but I think when you unravel all the secrets involving Roxas's time travel, you'll be able to go back and see the hints in the earlier chapters~ *wink***

**DarkFoxKit: And until next time everybody, this is DarkFoxKit and my partner Key2DestNE and we look forward to hearing from you!**


	13. Chapter 12: The Dark Master

**DarkFoxKit: Uh… So yeah, Key had to take a vacation, so I'm alone here… but-**

**Key2DestNE: *crashes through a window and rolls into place in front of her, springing up and making a huge banner appear* THE GREAT AND POWERFUL KEY2DESTNE IS BACK, EVERYBODY!**

**DarkFoxKit: WHAT THE BLOODY HECK!? Why are you here!? You said you wanted a break like two days ago!**

**Key2DestNE: *is chuckling mischievously* And I DID- over a week ago~ *outside the window, a time hole disappears, ready for Roxas to use it next.* But I'm back now! What, did you really think I'd miss THIS chapter, silly Foxie? *boops her nose* :3**

**DarkFoxKit: ….. *slowly walks into a closet and shuts the door.* …. *BOOOOOOM! BZZZZZZZZZT!* *Jumps out of the closet, completely singed.* It's not a dream… you actually CAME BACK!?**

**Key2DestNE: *is still grinning mischievously* Hey, I said I'd be back after a while! We can talk about this afterwards- we have an AN to do, DarkFoxKitty!**

**DarkFoxKit: … *picks up a shotgun* Yes… we do…. nighty-night~**

**Key2DestNE: … O_O I'm just now remembering why I left. *quickly holds his hands above his head* W-wait! Wait! Before you shoot me, you have to do the disclaimer and stuff!**

**DarkFoxKit: *BANG* Hah! It was only a popper gun, you should've seen the look on your face! Also, neither of us own Kingdom Hearts, or the characters, just the concept, and frankly I'm surprised nobody else came up with something like this yet. *throws the gun back before giving a big, wide smile at Key.***

**Key2DestNE: ...Y-yeah… me neither… now I'll just… be going now! *begins to nervously back up before turning tail and running as fast as he could* WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! CRAZY AUTHOR ON THE LOOOOOOSE!**

**DarkFoxKit: *charges at Key and glomps him!* I'VE MISSED YOUUUUU!**

**_Key2DestNE: WAH! GET OFF ME YOU CRAZY WOMA- *cue the static as he accidentally knocks over the camera*  
_**

* * *

**Chapter 12: The Dark Master**

Roxas was running, taking down any weak Unversed that tried to fight him. He was looking for Aqua or 626, but mostly his mind was elsewhere, plagued by what Braig said to him, making him question himself and Terra.

Roxas destroyed one of the weaker Unversed with Oblivion, dashing down another corridor while avoiding cameras. _Terra caused Xigbar's scar…? But… why did he never mention that? And… why did Braig call me a loose cannon? I know I need to work on my temper, but he made it sound like I could just go off and put everyone in danger!_

Roxas stopped when he came to a door, panting a bit, but he mostly tried to come to terms with Braig's words. _He said I fought dirty and not honorably like Keyblade Wielders should… but Axel taught me that sometimes the best way to take out a powerful enemy is to catch them off guard, is that really dishonorable? Aqua, Ven and Terra never seemed to complain when I fought with them…_

The Key to Destiny frowned a bit, still thinking it over, before he heard a familiar voice speaking behind the door. "Ah, Experiment 626! Is good to finally find you- come, I will fix abnormality, and ridiculous behavior stops once and for all."

Roxas blinked a few times before shaking his head- it was time to dispel these thoughts, it's not like Braig knew him really well and he could've just said those things to psyche him out. The Nobody opened the door and headed on through, seeing Jumba walking towards 626, who seemed to be complaining at him in his alien language.

"There you are!" Roxas said in relief as he approached them.

"Roxas!" 626 spoke happily at seeing him again while the Nobody bent down to pet him, which the little blue alien seemed to like.

Jumba frowned, turning around. "And here I am thinking you had left with Terra."

"Roxas!" another voice called out, surprising the time traveler boy. Roxas turned to see it was Aqua, looks like she arrived the same time he did. "I'm glad you're okay." Then she looked at the two aliens, frowning slightly. "Dr. Jumba and Experiment 626… I was authorized to take you both into custody."

"What? Wait, Aqua don't…" Roxas frowned as he stood up, shaking his head. "You shouldn't do this!"

626, however, had his attention set on another object- the makeshift Wayfinder in Aqua's hand. He crouched down and bounded towards it, crying out, "Terra!" He quickly snatched it up, beginning to nuzzle it like a child would do to it's favorite toy.

Aqua looked at him, shocked at this, "So… it was yours? But… where did you see that shape?"

Roxas blinked before realizing why 626 was fondling over it and why he kept saying 'Terra'. "Oh, I get it now… I guess it must've been when he took Terra's Wayfinder before… he must've seen how important it was to him, and I guess 626 wanted to make one of his own to be his friend." _I guess it's kinda like me with ice cream and Axel, sharing ice cream together represented friendship to me._ Then Roxas remembered that Wayfinder that strange man in the black cloak gave him earlier.

Curious, Roxas took out the Wayfinder from his pocket, looking at it. 626 noticed and smiled, pointing at his own and the one in Roxas's hand. "Terra! Roxas! Friends!" the little blue alien in red said happily.

Aqua looked at Roxas's Wayfinder, confused as to where he got it. _Strange… where did he get a Wayfinder? And… why does it look so similar to _Ven's _Wayfinder?_ But she decided not to question it out loud for now as she couldn't help but smile at the little alien, for something that was supposedly dangerous, he seemed more like a little kid.

Jumba scoffed, walking forward. "Yes, is copy he made of good luck charm Terra show to him. Terra said friend gave him charm. Was very protective of it…" he sighed, shaking his head. "And now, because of Terra and his little bauble, my genius creation is hesitating in his genetically programmed destructive instincts! Just _look_ at him!"

"I think that it's a _good_ thing, really." Roxas said with a soft smile.

* * *

Suddenly a plasma shot came out of nowhere and 626 barely jumped out of the way. Aqua gasped when she saw who shot at him. "What are you doing? We are to take them in alive, remember!?" It was Captain Gantu, and he was pointing a still-smoking laser blaster right at the little blue alien!

Roxas glared as he didn't hesitate to summon Oblivion again, he really didn't like this guy. "Hmph- guess you don't care about orders, _Captain._" he jeered.

Gantu glared at the Nobody back, "So, almost all the fugitives are here. Too bad we're missing one, but that's still better than just two." Then he turned to Aqua, scowling. "I've decided to take a _new_ approach. Alright, you three… any last words before I blast you into a million pieces?" Experiment 626 seemed to smirk as he said something that sounded quite rude even to those that didn't understand his language. "Why you- I am just big boned!"

"Look out!" Roxas rolled away from Gantu's plasma gun. Jumba went to go hide and get out of the cross fire. Aqua, Roxas and 626 all glared as they teamed up to take down the big alien captain.

"Let's finish this!" Gantu snapped as he shot at Aqua and Roxas since they were in front of him, but both Keyblade Wielders dodge roll/cartwheel out of the way before both of them slide over to him with speed and began slashing at him with their Keyblades. "Gah! Hold STILL!" He swiped at them with his hand that wasn't holding his blaster, but they both jumped back as their little furry ally fired his own blaster to cover their retreat.

Aqua pointed her Keyblade right at the big alien, firing off a bunch of fireballs and adding a few ice balls right behind them. "Freeze! Freeze!" She continued to fire off spell after spell, including the occasional Thunder.

Roxas was impressed by her display of magic, he knew some pretty good magic himself but they were nowhere near Aqua's level. _Wow, she's gotten a lot stronger since I last saw her._

Then Aqua suddenly was surrounded in a bright pink and purple aura! "Command Style: Spell Weaver!" She smirked, her Keyblade beginning to hover beside her. "Great!" She began to swing her Keyblade around, hitting the alien captain over and over before firing off a ball of light, hitting him right in the chest. "Gotcha!"

Gantu was a lot bulkier and studier than Roxas thought, because even after all that, he was still standing. He put away his big plasma gun and charged at them! Roxas was still in awe at the display Aqua did that he didn't react fast enough to dodge Gantu's incoming attack! And boy, did the big alien hit like a TRUCK! "Gah!" He groaned in pain as he was hit into the air before quickly recovering and managed to dive with his Oblivion to smack Gantu on the head as payback.

Gantu was groaning over his headache that Roxas caused him and 626 took out his own plasma guns, which were smaller to fit his own hands, but they seem to pack quite a punch themselves as he hit Gantu who grunted in pain from each blast. Finally, Gantu recovered enough to take out his own plasma gun and began firing rapidly!

Everyone quickly ducked behind separate crates that were in the area, and Aqua occasionally hit Gantu with another spell that seemed much more powerful for some reason. "Fire! Freeze! Thunder!" Finally, she began to glow a brighter violet color, almost losing the pink completely as her Keyblade turned into a huge long sword made of light! "Command Style: Blade Charge!"

While Aqua was doing a lot of flashy combos on Gantu, Roxas heard 626 calling out to him. "Roxas!" he was bouncing around as if trying to signal the boy to do something with him.

Roxas blinked as he watched the little blue alien constantly curling up into a literal ball, trying to bounce, until the young Nobody understood what he wanted. "Alright!" He rushed over to 626 and grabbed him when he turned into a ball, allowing Roxas to easily throw him right at Gantu's head!

"WHAT!?" Gantu shouted as 626 began slashing and biting at his head! "Get off, you little monster! OW! Not the fins!"

Roxas joined with Aqua trying to combo Gantu while 626 was distracting him. _Geez, how much could one guy take? He's even sturdier than Saix in his Berserk mode!_

Gantu by this point was panting heavily, but he finally threw the Experiment off of his head, firing plasma beams that hit him dead-on! "Ha! Gotcha, you little- WHAT!?" To his shock, not only was the blue fuzzy alien okay, he stuck out his tongue mockingly. "Why you…!"

Gantu began slapping his big arms around, hitting both Aqua and Roxas, and boy did it hurt! The guy can hit like a freaking monster truck and both Aqua and Roxas were feeling the hurt. Roxas had to down a Hi-Potion already while Aqua used Curaga to heal herself.

Roxas tried to analyze the situation while Gantu was distracted with 626. _Close combat with this guy is dangerous, he moves slow but his attacks are downright painful. Aqua has a lot of magic in her arsenal, but even then it would be hard to hit him with his constant shooting. There has to be another way…_ The young Nobody looked over at Aqua, who looked like she was trying to analyze the situation herself, but unlike Roxas, she didn't stay hidden for too long before she suddenly flashed with fire aura around her body!

"What the?" Roxas was immediately reminded of Axel when he saw the flames around Aqua's body, like she just powered herself up using her fire magic.

Aqua smiled, her Keyblade surrounded with flames that looked odd around the flowers. "Command Style: Firestorm!" She began slashing away at Captain Gantu, leaving burn marks every time she made a hit. "Fire!" To Roxas's shock, she fired a huge fireball, one that was nearly the size of their opponent! Then after she finished her combo, she set ablaze the floor all around Gantu!

"Whoa… Axel would be so jealous." Roxas chuckled to himself. Gantu growled as he began firing his plasma ray everywhere again, covered in a bunch of wounds and scratches all over his body.

Roxas had to dodge roll because the plasma gun destroyed the crate he was using as a cover. Then Roxas slide over at Gantu and hit his leg, trying to keep him from charging again. 626 shot at Gantu before running over back to him, wanting Roxas to throw him again at Gantu's face.

"Let's do it!" Roxas grabbed 626 and threw him right at Gantu's face again, just before he attacked. Then he noticed Aqua was giving him a curious look before she ran to attack too. Both Keyblade Wielders did their combos on Gantu just before he could throw 626 off!

The giant alien groaned in pain, and as they slashed at his legs, he muttered, "Not again…" Roxas and Aqua jumped back, ready to strike again, 626 was on the other side, snapping his teeth. Gantu took aim with his plasma gun, growling out "I'm not finished with you yet."

* * *

"ENOUGH!" a high authority voice suddenly shouted, stopping the fight. "I've witnessed everything on the monitor." It was the Grand Council Woman. She walked passed Gantu, who was frantic when she made her appearance known.

"Grand Council Woman! I-I can explain!" he quickly try to say, but she ignored him as she walked towards Aqua and Roxas.

The high authority alien spoke, "You've been a great service, Aqua. Thank you." Then she looked at the younger boy beside her. "And I apologize, it seems there was a misunderstanding with you. You're no longer considered a fugitive here since you had helped Aqua and are clearly a friend of her's."

Roxas nodded to her as he bowed with respect, hiding a faint smile of relief. "Thank you, your Highness." _Finally, no more hiding from cameras like I've been doing! That was getting old _really_ fast…_

The Grand Council Woman's lips quirked up in a faint smile before she turned to Captain Gantu, frowning. "Captain Gantu! Escort 626 to the asteroid to which he's been banished. When you return, you're back on patrol."

The huge alien groaned at that, his shoulders slumping in disappointment. "Not patrol! Please, I-" he stopped at the look the Grand Council Woman gave him, and he sighed. "...Yes, Grand Council Woman… I-I understand…"

Roxas and Aqua looked over at 626, who looked rather calm about this as he nuzzled his Wayfinder. 626 and Jumba were being walked out with some soldiers holding plasma guns behind them so they won't try to escape again.

Aqua frowned, however, taking a step forward. "Please, your Highness, will you consider sparing Experiment 626?"

"Spare him?" the high authority alien said as if in shock. "He's far too dangerous, we can't do that. I know you have worked hard, however we _cannot_ release such a menace."

Roxas spoke up, crossing his arms with a frown. "But… he's a friend of mine too, he's helped us along the way. I know he's dangerous, but… he's at least _trying _to make friends, and maybe if you'll give him a chance… he could show you he could be good too." The Nobody couldn't help but think back when he was first admitted into the Organization, he was like a zombie and nobody wanted anything to do with him, only Axel gave him a chance, and thus began their friendship with each other, and he knows that 626 could do the same.

"..." The alien woman sighed, slowly walking towards them both. "Very well, you two… _if_ he behaves himself, I will consider shortening his exile. How much will depend on his behavior, but I will still need to exile him for a short time, at the very least."

"I'm very happy to hear that." Roxas said in relief. _Well… at least it's better than nothing- besides, I'm sure he'll do great!_

Aqua gave a small smile in relief herself, nodding gratefully. "Thank you, ma'am…" She then walked forwards to Experiment 626, before leaning down and putting a gentle hand on his Wayfinder. The alien blinked curiously, glancing up at her. "I like the charm you made. Do you think maybe… my circle of friends could become part of yours? My name is Aqua- my friends are Terra, Ventus, and Roxas."

626 gave a smile as he tried to say their names. "Ah-koo...wah, frien. Terra… Ven… Roxas."

Roxas chuckled as he approached the little blue alien. "Yeah, and hey, Ventus looks a lot like me, but keep in mind we're two different people, okay?" 626 nodded in understanding before he turned around, beginning to follow both Jumba and the Grand Council Woman.

* * *

Aqua gave a faint smile before turning to the Nobody beside her. "Well… this was certainly an exciting adventure on this ship, to say the least." She frowned a bit, crossing her arms as she grew serious. "Now… why aren't you back home, young man?"

Roxas groaned at that statement, his shoulders slumping. "Oh come on Aqua, I have as much right to be out here as you. Okay maybe I'm not some Keyblade Master, but I do have my own reasons. Besides, the last time you tried to get me and Ven to go home, we ended up in space… or at least _I_ did. I don't know where Ven is right now."

Aqua blinked at that, but she hesitated. "...You make a good point… but…" _But what if you get hurt? I… if Roxas got hurt… _again_… I don't know if I could forgive myself…_

"Aqua… listen… I get it, you're worried for me. But even though I'm only a 'kid', I've seen and done things that even grown men find disturbing. It's not that big of deal, but… please try not to worry about me… if anything, you should look out for Ventus more- after all, Vanitas is after_ him_." Roxas shrugged, deciding to ignore the fact that now Vanitas was after _both_ of them- Ventus for whatever reason, and Roxas for a good fight. "And you _know_ I can defend myself."

"..." Aqua sighed. "I… suppose… but only on one condition." She crossed her arms, giving a slight frown. "You answer a few questions I have about you, Roxas- and please, answer them truthfully… I know you're hiding things from me, but I want to know some of them, even if you're not willing to reveal _everything_."

"Well, I promise I'll try my best to answer them, Aqua, but… just remember that there are some things better left unsaid." Roxas said with a defeated tone. "So… what are these questions?"

Aqua frowned, crossing her arms thoughtfully as she sat down on a nearby crate. "First… why haven't you heard of Shotlocks? And you seemed surprised by my Command Styles too- why is that?"

"What? I never said I haven't heard of Shotlocks… and the Command Style looked pretty advanced, so I never seen it before." Roxas answered the best he could without revealing he never had a Keyblade Master to teach him anything.

Aqua frowned a bit, crossing her arms thoughtfully. "...I suppose that makes sense… alright then. What about that Wayfinder of yours?" Roxas blinked at that, surprised. "It looks a lot like the Wayfinder I gave to Ven…"

"Ven has one?" Roxas asked, blinking in surprise. "Well I got this from someone, but I didn't know who they were, and I couldn't see their face. I don't even know their name, but they just handed it to me and left." He was truthful with this one, he honestly _didn't_ know anything about them. "Funny thing is… I couldn't help but think they know me somehow…"

Aqua frowned at that, closing her eyes to think for a moment. _So someone Roxas doesn't know gave him a Wayfinder? …This _screams_ fishiness… but I can't just follow Roxas forever…_ "Alright… Next question- how many keychains do you have?" _I only have about ten myself… but I've seen Roxas transform his Keyblade into two forms so far._

"Only three, if you count my Keyblade's original keychain. I've lost most of them when I suddenly appeared in the Land of Departure." Roxas explained, summoning the Kingdom Key to show her before dismissing it.

Aqua nodded, before what he said registered in her mind. "Wait… _most_ of them? How many keychains did you _have_ originally?" She looked at him in surprise, finding it hard to imagine he had more than ten, but the way he said that…

Roxas blinked at her sudden shock at this, he didn't think it'd be _that _surprising. "Well… about… twenty-four if I remember right, why?"

"..." Aqua twitched slightly. "...Roxas… I have _ten_ keychains- how long have you been a Keyblade Wielder?"

Roxas blinked again… he thought keychains were more common than Keyblades, but she only had TEN? The Nobody soon realized the pitfall he dug himself in and he hoped he could fix it before too much damage is done. "About a year…" he answered honestly.

"..." Aqua gave him a flabbergasted look. "I… I see… And… how often have you traveled while being a Keyblade Wielder?" _He's been one for a _year_ and he's this powerful? He's nearly as strong as me if not more so!_

Roxas was getting uncomfortable with how she was looking at him like he just announced he accepted darkness or something. "Well… my Master was pretty strict but he also pushed me a lot, Kingdom Hearts forbid that he doesn't let me travel out into other worlds and fight for one day." Again, he was referring to either Xemnas or Saix here.

"..." Aqua sighed slightly in relief, feeling much better about that. _Well… if he's been out there for a year, then I suppose that's actually not as unbelievable as I thought… It's still a lot to take in… but at least it's somewhat physically _possible_. _"So your Master… does he have a hands-on approach to training you? Or does he let you do everything by yourself?"

The young time traveler seemed uncomfortable about that, he wondered what was the best way to answer this without seeming _too_ odd. "... In a way… I guess it was both."

Aqua blinked at that, before considering that for herself. "...I see…" _If he has a combination of personal experience and training… well, then that would certainly explain how powerful he is. But… _"...How do you travel to other worlds if you don't have armor or a Keyblade Glider?"

Now this was a tricky one, but Roxas figured she might've asked this question. "Well, there _are _other means to travel that doesn't use the armor or the Keyblade Glider…" he remembered how Sora got around from his memories of him. "Have you ever heard of Gummi Ships?" Of course, Roxas himself never actually rode a Gummi Ship, but he certainly wasn't going to tell her that he uses the Corridor of Darkness to get around. The Gummi Ship was less of a red flag to say the least.

Aqua blinked in confusion, but then her eyes lit up in realization. _Of course! If one Gummi Block can take you to any world when you're able to harness it's power…! _"...I suppose that makes a lot of sense." she admitted. "Here's another one… why did you and Ven split up?"

Roxas chuckled a bit at that, now that one was easier to answer. "Well Ven probably wanted to travel alone for a bit, so he left me. I ended up going with Terra because he was in the same world at the time."

Aqua blinked in surprise, before she frowned in thought. _Considering how often it's been that we've gone to the same world… _"...Which one was it, Roxas? Can you describe it?"

"It was a big coliseum. There was a goat man named Phil who apparently can't count, an awkward boy with a lot of strength, and another energetic boy who wore a helmet and has raven black hair." Roxas described.

Aqua blushed a bit, remembering that world. "O-oh, right… the coliseum…" _I still can't believe that boy, Zack, asked me out on a _date_!_ "Well… I have one last question- how did you get to the Land of Departure?"

Roxas blinked at that and said, frowning in confusion, "Why are you asking me that again? Didn't I already tell you how I ended up there? I fell through a hole and it just dropped me on top of Ven. I know it's weird, but that's really what happened." _At least she's not asking me if my 'Master' is worried, that would be awkward to answer._

Aqua frowned, closing her eyes in thought. _Well… he's not changing his story, at least- that gives it a semblance of truth…_ She slowly nodded, before she thought of something. "...What world did you train on the most, Roxas? Was it the one your Master called home?"

"... Yes, that and sometimes he made me train at the coliseum world." Roxas answered, hoping she wouldn't ask the world's name, because he's sure 'The World That Never Was' wouldn't make any sense. "Is that everything you wanted to know, Aqua?"

The Keyblade Master sighed, but she nodded after a moment of thinking. "I suppose so…" _I can't think of anything else, at least. _"...If you're ready to leave, Roxas, you can join me. I don't think there's anything else to do on this world…"

Roxas shook his head, he didn't know how but he just felt that his job here wasn't done yet. "Not yet, I know there's still something left for me to do here. You go on ahead Aqua, your mission here is done, but I need to stay a little longer." Aqua frowned, looking like she was going to protest, but he spoke up before she could. "Remember, you said you'd trust me now if I answered all of your questions. You have your own mission to do, Aqua, and I have mine."

"..." Aqua mentally groaned. _I know I _should_ trust him… but… he's still a kid… _After a few moments, she sighed. "I guess you're right, Roxas. Just… please be careful, okay? And be sure to use the hidden health spots as often as possible- I don't want you to be gravely injured because of past battles!"

"Thanks Aqua!" Roxas smiled at her, giving a small wave. "I'll be sure to see you and Terra later!" Aqua sighed as she summoned her armor and her Keyblade Glider.

"And I'll be seeing you and Ven later too." Aqua said to him. "Be careful out there, Roxas." And with that, she flew off into the Realms of Between.

* * *

Roxas sighed in relief, although he likes Aqua, she can be pretty overbearing when she's worried like that. "Now I know what it feels like to have a Mom…"

"Oh?" Roxas froze, hearing an all too familiar gravelly-sounding voice behind him. "What do you mean by that, Roxas?"

The Nobody quickly spun around, wondering just how long the old coot was standing there! "Why are you here!?" he demanded, immediately summoning Oathkeeper to his hand.

Xehanort chuckled softly, giving a small smirk. "Why… an old man cannot watch over a Keyblade Wielder he finds interesting? I'm hurt, Roxas… I thought you knew me better than to be concerned!"

Roxas wasn't taking any chances, he was already in his battle stance as his new opponent was talking. Xehanort was strong, even for an old man he was not someone to underestimate. "What do you want with _me_ then? I thought you were after only Eraqus's students, which I'm clearly _not_!"

Xehanort chuckled, and Roxas shuddered at how it sounded like rocks falling down a mountain. "Perhaps not… however, you _are_ closely linked to them. Not to mention how often you've thwarted my attempts to learn more about you- you're more powerful than you seem, boy."

"To learn more about me?" Roxas frowned at that. "So… you've been spying on me and how I fight? … I'm guessing it was you who sent Braig and Vanitas after me then?"

Xehanort's smirk only grew at that question, practically confirming Roxas's suspicions even if his next statement hadn't done that. "I see you have incredible logic as well- my, my… you're growing more and more interesting every moment! However… I can't allow you to escape this time, Roxas." He held out his hand, and Roxas tensed up when the Keyblade Master's weapon appeared in a familiar flash of light. "I suggest you come quietly, so we don't have to tire ourselves more than necessary."

"I still don't know why you want me in particular, surely this big plan of yours doesn't involve some stranger you've never met before." Roxas hissed, he didn't like the odds… The Nobody knew he was at a disadvantage because he was tired from his previous battles with Gantu and Braig, he hadn't had time to find a health spot, and now he's thrust into another battle!

"Oh, perhaps not… however, plans always need backups, my dear boy." Xehanort's smirk turned dark and cruel as he pointed his Keyblade right at his opponent. "And you are too wonderful a backup to merely lose due to your reluctance… Now will you come quietly, or will you need to be_ beaten_ into submission, Roxas?"

Roxas glared before he suddenly stood up out of his battle stance and held down Oathkeeper to his side. "What's the point? I'm too tired to fight anymore, and you'll just keep coming after me until I agree… I don't belong anywhere…"

Xehanort paused at that, seeming surprised, but he lowered his own Keyblade, seeming satisfied. "Well, I'm glad to see you know reason, Roxas. Come… we shall talk in a more secure location." He gestured with his hand, and a Corridor of Darkness appeared beside him.

Roxas sighed, walking towards Xehanort with his Keyblade still down by his side. He was about to walk into the Corridor before he paused, confusing Xehanort. "...You know… you shouldn't let an opponent get this close." Xehanort's eyes widened, but before he could react any further, Roxas pointed Oathkeeper right at the old man's stomach and fired out both a Blizzaga and a Firaga in succession!

Xehanort grunted in pain, quickly jumping away from the Nobody as the Dark Corridor dissipated. "You…! You managed to trick _me_!?"

Roxas didn't answer to that, instead he slide across the room and managed to hit Xehanort again with Oathkeeper, causing more damage as the old Master hissed and pushed back, using his own Keyblade to block any more attacks.

Although while blocking, Xehanort couldn't help but laugh, sounding amused once more. "Braig was right… you _do_ try to catch your enemies off guard! Impressive indeed…"

Roxas glared as he jumped back and away from Xehanort. "Shut up! I won't listen to anymore of your lies!"

The old man smirked, beginning to cloak himself in darkness. "Oh? What makes you believe I'm lying, dear Roxas? After all, you've already used that tactic against Braig- it's interesting to experience it myself, to say the least!" With that, he charged right at Roxas faster than the eye could blink, surprising the boy!

Roxas didn't have time to block as Xehanort shoved his Keyblade at him! Roxas was pushed back, and the old man shot multiple fireballs at the Nobody! It was clear he wasn't going to hold back this time. Roxas hissed in pain as the flames seared his skin, but he refused to give up now. Roxas managed to recover in the air and his feet hit the wall and he sprung himself at Xehanort and swung his Oathkeeper at the old man!

Roxas quickly began dodge rolling as soon as he hit the floor, not wanting to get hit with a fatal attack like before. Roxas had to keep his distance while at the same time trying to go on offensive. Xehanort had clear mastery over his own Keyblade and magic, because he began shooting out Thundaraga, Firaga, Blizzaraga and even Reflectaga when Roxas tried to hit him with his own magic.

The young Nobody was beginning to lose hope fast as he couldn't find an opening, and he was getting tired of moving around so much. Roxas managed to slide in close as he slashed at Xehanort and then quickly stuck his Keyblade on the floor in order to lift himself and kick the old man. Xehanort grunted in pain, but was far from finished, he only had a bigger gleam in his eyes the more hits Roxas landed on him, it was as if he was testing to see how strong of a fighter Roxas really is.

Roxas absolutely refuse to duel wield in front of Xehanort. It was bad enough with Vanitas and Terra discovering he could wield two Keyblades at once, but having the big bad here knowing is the biggest no-no in his book, so he'll have to make do with just the one. Oathkeeper helped Roxas with his magic and for that he usually prefer to use it when in a situation where he'll have to use magic a lot, Oblivion was meant for more physical and melee fights. Having the two together was a deadly combination, but he couldn't do that here, not without great risks.

"FIRE!" Roxas managed to shoot out three fireballs at once, but only one was able to hit Xehanort. The Nobody came in close to strike again, and then he began to parry against Xehanort's fast reflexes with his own Keyblade.

"You've gotten stronger since the last time we fought, Roxas." Xehanort smirked as the two kept parrying with each other with clashes. "But do you know how to use the Command Style yet?"

Roxas gritted his teeth as he felt color drain from his face… seeing Aqua using the Command Style, he knew how powerful it could be… and if Xehanort knew how to use one, that could be the end of this fight!

Xehanort chuckled darkly, seeing Roxas grow pale was enough of an answer for him. "I see… well then, I suppose this is the end. Pity- you're a wonderful opponent. Ah well…" He pushed the younger boy back, and he suddenly began to glow a bright brown. "Command Style: Rock Breaker!" He swung his Keyblade, and even though he was far away from Roxas, a pillar of rock appeared and flew straight at the boy!

Roxas gasped as he tried to block it since he had no time to dodge or use Reflect, all he could do was brace himself! The attack itself hit even HARDER than Gantu ever did, and that did not spell good news for this fight. Roxas was in a daze, everything was blurry and he couldn't even feel his own body. The Nobody was lying on the floor, looking half conscious.

* * *

Xehanort smirked, walking up to Roxas and gently nudging the boy with his foot. "Hmm… You may be strong indeed- however, you're still just a boy I see…" With that, he began to lean down, and was about to grab his 'prey' before he noticed something coming in at high speed! He quickly jumped back, barely dodging something that speared into the ground where his hand was as he looked around. "Hmm… Who is it this time?"

Roxas, in his half-conscious state, turned his head weakly, and he blinked slowly at what stopped Xehanort from capturing him once and for all. _That… looks almost like… Axel's chakram…? But… how could… that be?_

The weak Nobody then heard footsteps coming closer to him, and they picked up the wheel-like weapon speared into the floor. "Geez Roxas, I can't leave you alone for a minute now can I?"

Roxas could only groan in response. _Is that…? No… it's impossible… I must be growing delusional… There's no way_ he's_ here… is there?_

The cloaked figure was standing in front of him, and they chuckled a bit, placing an Elixir by his feet. "Here… drink this- I can't bring you to a heal spot, but it'll have to do for now, won't it?"

Roxas weakly tried to look up, but his dazed head wouldn't let him, so he'll have to trust this mysterious figure, and he weakly took the Elixir in front of him. While Roxas was trying to get it into his mouth, he heard the person talking to Xehanort.

"And just who are you?" Xehanort all but demanded, clearly sounding annoyed that he couldn't get his prize for the second time in a row.

"What? Are you worried about little ol' me?" The person chuckled mockingly, clearly a male. "I'm flattered, Xehanort, really I am." Their voice, combined with the chakram in their hand, was driving Roxas insane- it all seemed way too familiar!

The old man frowned suspiciously, holding his Keyblade in a battle-ready stance. "...I suppose I know you somehow?" he cautiously asked, still sounding irritated.

"Heh… Nah, you don't know me… but I know everything about you, and that's all you need to know." The man began spinning the chakram in his hand, summoning another one in his other hand as the weapons began to light up in flames. Roxas managed to finally down the Elixir, the powerful medicine quickly healing his body and his magic as best as it could. "You're finally good to go, eh? Good- you wanna help me with this?"

Roxas blinked, finally able to move as he looked up at the hooded figure… he still couldn't see his face, but he was almost positive he saw a pair of emerald green eyes burning brightly in the shadows of the hood. The young Nobody quickly stood up and said, frowning in confusion, "... Axel?"

The cloaked figure laughed at that, shaking his head. "Heh… Close, buddy- close…" He continued to spin his chakrams in his hand, glancing at the Nobody by his side. "I'll explain when I have more time. For now… you gonna help or just stand there like a gaping fish?"

Roxas blinked a few times before shaking his head, smiling, trying to keep the tears from leaking out of his eyes. _That HAS to be Axel! I-I don't know why or how he's here, but he is! And I know I can count on him._ With that, Roxas summoned Oathkeeper once more, getting into his battle stance, feeling hope rising within him once more. "Y-yeah, you bet!"

The figure chuckled one more time, leaning down a bit. "Good- c'mon, let's kick this old coot's keister!"

* * *

Xehanort scowled, beginning to glow with the Rock Breaker Command Style once more. "If you two believe you can defeat me… I suppose I will have to break that notion. I may not know who you are… but you stand no chance against me!"

The cloaked figure chuckled dryly, flames beginning to surround him. "Heh… We'll just have to see about that, won't we, old man?"

Roxas had fought with Axel multiple times before, so this made this battle seemed more natural to him since he got here- heck, since he was in that fake Twilight Town even- and it made him feel a lot better having an ally he didn't have to hide from. Axel started this by throwing his two chakrams right into the pillar of rock heading towards them, setting it on fire before he turned to Roxas, "Now, Roxas!"

Roxas nodded, he didn't have to be told what to do, he just knew. The Key to Destiny jumped right at the burning rock before he threw Oathkeeper at it, causing the rock to completely break from where the chakrams were being lodged in, ultimately defeating the Rock Breaker Command! Roxas and Axel gave each other a quick high five before they charged at Xehanort together.

Axel smirked, tossing a chakram at Xehanort. The old man blocked it, but he was unable to block the second one that impaled his leg. "Gah! Why you…! Dark Volley!" He fired off a few Dark Firagas at the two, quickly pulling out the chakram.

Roxas deflected the Dark Firagas with his Keyblade as he followed it up with a combo of his own at Xehanort, who grunted in pain at each hit. "Take that!" He slammed Oathkeeper into Xehanort's chest for good measure before he quickly jumped away.

Angry, Xehanort stood up and pierced the floor with his Keyblade, he began putting in some dark energy into the blade and suddenly the floor and walls around the two began to glow with dark aura. Roxas and Axel looked around as they sensed the powerful darkness surrounding them. With a twitch of his finger, Xehanort had the walls shoot dark beams at them!

Roxas gasped as he quickly swung Oathkeeper to deflect them, Axel doing the same with his chakrams. The dark lasers were coming at them constantly, making it hard for them to breathe as they couldn't stop or they'd be bombarded with the attack!

However, as powerful an attack as it was, it was also clearly energy-draining, and Xehanort stopped it a few moments before the two friends would be overwhelmed. Axel smirked, glancing at Roxas. "You ready?" He held out his chakram, and Roxas nodded, electrifying it with a quick Thunder. "Let's do this!" He tossed it up into the air, letting Roxas slam his Keyblade into it and send it right at the elderly Xehanort!

Xehanort yelled out in pain, but he was far from finished. The old man stood up and casted a green light on himself, he had used Curaga to heal some of the damage. Xehanort then decided to take another approach, this time the more physical one- these two were dangerous together, he wanted to try and separate them.

Roxas gasped when Xehanort suddenly charged at them with such speed that he only thought Vanitas was capable of doing! Xehanort attacked Roxas with his Keyblade, and the Nobody reacted quickly and parried him with Oathkeeper, causing the two to start clashing. Xehanort, of course, didn't forget about Axel, he summoned a lot of Dark Blizzaraga and aimed the dark ice crystals all at Axel, giving the pyro user something to play with while he tries to take down Roxas once more.

Roxas had noticed this as he was trying to parry Xehanort. _Smart, he knew Axel and myself were too dangerous to take on together so he's trying to separate us..._

The two Keyblade Wielders continued to clash against each other's Keyblades, until eventually Roxas pushed the older man away. Taking advantage of this, he jumped back and aimed a Shotlock right at Xehanort. Although he still wasn't very good at using the Shotlock, he was able to aim a lot faster now and shot out light energy at the dark user. The beams of light were now being fired in a more rapid pace, similar to how when he used his Limit attack with his own light pillars. Roxas is able to guide or scramble the beams of light he shoots out, making it hard for Xehanort to dodge or deflect them.

Roxas managed to do this for about a minute before he ran out of energy for the Shotlocks, and he quickly began dodge rolling in hopes of keeping Xehanort from getting to him again.

Meanwhile, Axel was still trying to destroy the Dark Blizzaragas without said darkness exploding and causing him damage. He gritted his teeth in pain as one of the ice balls slammed into his back, forcing his hood to come off and revealing spiky red hair. "Gah! That is IT!" He kicked the ice ball back, tossing a chakram at it before engulfing everything around it in flames. "_BURN_, BABY!"

The sudden burst of flames distracted Xehanort for a second, allowing Roxas to hit his side by tossing his Keyblade at him! Roxas then charged at Xehanort again, and he lifted Oathkeeper up. "THUNDER!" He had a lightning bolt strike at Xehanort, in hopes of paralyzing him to keep him from moving around too much. Thankfully it worked well enough, making the older man just slow enough to be unable to block Roxas's next combo.

Xehanort hissed but he managed to grab Roxas's shirt, forcing the Nobody to a stop. "I won't be defeated so easily!" he snapped at the boy before throwing him in the air. Roxas noticed a dark aura surrounding the old man, and the darkness had spiked ten fold. The Nobody saw Xehanort smirking before he all but teleported right above him! Roxas managed to perform a Reversal in the air, barely dodging his Keyblade strike, but he had to keep using Reversal just to stay _alive_ at this point!

Axel sighed in relief when the ice balls were gone, but he glanced up, noticing Roxas barely dodging Xehanort's constant strikes. "Hang on, buddy!" He frowned worriedly, before tossing both chakrams at Xehanort. Thankfully, this distracted the old man long enough for Roxas to retaliate and slam his Keyblade into Xehanort's back, sending him flying into the ground!

The strong darkness Xehanort was using kept him from being injured too much, but it was clear that he was tired as he stood up from the small crater he made on the ship's floor… Well, more like a dent than a crater. "I see… You both possess a lot of power." He looked at Roxas, his yellow eyes never ceasing to creep the Nobody out. "Fine… you win for now, but mark my words boy, I _will_ have you when the time comes." He scowled, forming a Corridor of Darkness behind him.

Roxas glared, pointing his Keyblade right at the old man's chest. "Just try and take me, I'll make sure you'll fail again." Xehanort just huffed angrily before he backed into the corridor and it disappeared. Roxas sighed in relief at that, finally showing his exhaustion from the fight.

* * *

With the threat gone, Roxas all but fell to the floor on his butt, dismissing Oathkeeper, but he smiled up at Axel. "Thanks… you saved me again, Axel. And… I'm sorry about-" Poke. "..." He blinked as he went cross-eyed to see the finger poking his forehead.

Axel gave a crooked grin, shaking his head. "Heh… I think you got it memorized too well, Roxas. 'Cause it ain't Axel anymore!"

"Huh? I don't understand…" Roxas frowned, looking at him. "Did you change your name or something?" _I guess that makes sense if he's trying to hide from the Organization now… But wait… that still doesn't answer what he's doing here in the first place._

Axel chuckled in amusement, crossing his arms. "C'mon, buddy! Don't tell me you don't remember my original name!" He waited a few moments, but Roxas just kept looking at him in confusion. "...Notice anything missing from my face, Roxas?"

"Um…" Roxas still stared at him blankly.

Axel sighed, facepalming. "Geez Roxas, you're acting like the first time we met. Look, the tattoos from under my eyes, they're gone! Get it?"

"..." Roxas still didn't get it, he just kept staring at him. "...What's that supposed to mean? You got your tattoos removed?"

The redhead's eye twitched. "Oh for crying out- I'm not a Nobody anymore, Roxas! Sheesh… For getting it memorized, you sure don't remember my original name anymore…"

"... What?" Roxas so smartly replied, all that registered was that Axel just informed him that 'he wasn't a Nobody anymore.'

Axel groaned, his shoulders slumping in disappointment. "Geez, you really _have_ gone into zombie mode again…" He poked Roxas's forehead again, making the blond splutter. "Oi! Anybody in there, buddy?"

Roxas slapped Axel-but-not-Axel's hand away from his face. "Hey! Knock it off! What you're telling me is you're not a Nobody anymore and your name isn't even Axel. How am I _supposed_ to react to that!?"

The redhead chuckled, shrugging. "Well… try to think about it- if I'm back to my past self, what's my name, Roxas? C'mon, you met him a couple days ago, you oughta know this one!"

Roxas blinked as if trying to make sense what's coming out of the pyro's mouth, before he let the words sink in. _Past self? … Does he mean his original self? Wait… that can't be possible!_ "Are you… saying you're 'Lea' again?"

The pyromaniac grinned like he had just won the lottery, giving a thumbs up. "Bingo! Got it memorized now, Roxas?" Then he noticed the blond's still blank look. "...You don't get it, do you?"

"... All I can guess is that you, somehow, regained your heart and now you're claiming you're no longer a Nobody." Roxas said with as much logic as he could- to his knowledge, it was impossible for a Nobody to be their original selves again once they've been turned into a Heartless.

Axel shrugged. "Eh, something like that… Basically, I got destroyed." Roxas froze at that. "And apparently my Heartless was already destroyed too, so-" Suddenly, his shoulders were grabbed as his face was dragged down to meet his best friend's. "Eh?"

"Please tell me you're joking Axel! We just fought like… I don't know, a minute back in the present time? How could you have possibly been destroyed!?" Roxas all but shouted in his friend's face. "And… and what are you even DOING here?"

"..." Axel, or now Lea, blinked owlishly, before he groaned. "Oh boy…" He cautiously detached himself from his friend, rubbing his forehead. _Of COURSE Roxas had to come from right THEN…_ "It's hard to explain, but… I'm from later on in the future than you."

Roxas blinked before he registered what Axel- or rather, LEA, meant by that. "... So… you're from a future from _my_ timeline?" His best friend nodded, and Roxas tried to take that information in. "...Then _how're_ you here!?"

Lea sweatdropped at Roxas still shouting. "Geez, cool down buddy! I'm here for an exam- let me explain it a bit more, and you'll understand!"

"An exam?" Roxas frowned, more questions popping up in his mind. "... Okay, I'm listening."

Lea sighed in relief when his friend said that. "Well… I'm assuming you remember the Mark of Mastery exam, right?" Roxas slowly nodded, unsure as to what this has to do with it. "It's sort of like that- but this is to test and see if I'm even ready for a Keyblade."

"... You're… going to wield a Keyblade too, Ax- I mean Lea?" Roxas asked, the name sounding so foreign to his tongue. "And… you say you're here for the exam? Why would they take you back in time where you could screw something up?"

Lea chuckled, shrugging. "Well… apparently I was already here, adjusting things slightly- so the timeline's still the same no matter what. Besides, the test is to help you get through whatever's happening here and hopefully learn for myself what really happened here."

Something about that struck Roxas odd. "... You were already here? What? But… how… why… How is that a thing?" Roxas shook his head, trying not to get tongue tied here. "I mean how is it possible that the timeline's still the same with you _being_ here when you _don't_ belong in this timeline like I'm not?"

Lea chuckled a bit, shrugging. "Well… I'm not sure how to explain this- but basically, we were _meant_ to be here. Do you know about the solid timeline idea?" Roxas just looked at him blankly. "...Riiiight… Basically, if you go back in time and meet yourself, you would have remembered meeting yourself in the past- got it memorized, Roxas?"

"... But I didn't exist 11 years in the past." was all Roxas said, apparently still not getting it.

Lea facepalmed, groaning. "Oy, you're just as much of a zombie kid as ever… No, you_ didn't_ exist then- but you came back in time, like you did to get here! Get it?"

The younger time traveler sighed, slowly nodding. "I get that, but isn't it dangerous for future time travelers to go back in the past? Why do you say it like we were a part of this… big story plan tragic thing?" Roxas didn't know how else to word it, and he's aware how weird that sounded.

"Well, because we _were_." Lea shrugged, stating it as if it was obvious. "We just weren't remembered too much- I never showed my face, and you looked too similar to Ventus."

Roxas frowned a bit, crossing his arms thoughtfully. "... But… well…" He shook his head, getting a bit of a headache from trying to think it over. "Never mind. Ax- Lea, I would ask you why you were stalking me earlier, but I'm sure you were about to tell me, right?"

Lea chuckled, shrugging. "Well, isn't it obvious? I was seeing what was going on- I _did_ tell you that was half the point of my exam, to see what happened here!"

"But you didn't just _observe _what I was doing! You gave me that black coat earlier back at the mine, and I saw you used a Keyblade to get me out of that prison Maleficent sent me in!" Roxas said with a frown, remembering clearly that Lea had indeed used a Keyblade to free him.

"Ah yes, well you see... that Keyblade was borrowed, it was to see if I could wield one and it turns out I have potential to, and I used it to free you. Of course I got in trouble when I was found out and it was taken away..." Lea said with a sheepish chuckle.

"Yeah, that sounds like you... And you gave me this Wayfinder… Where did you even get it?" Roxas asked, holding out the green Wayfinder.

Lea sighed. _And THIS is why I was advised to not reveal myself… _"Well honestly, I gave you the black coat because you kinda needed help- no offense, Roxas, but you can be _way_ too conspicuous at times." Then he glanced down at the Wayfinder. "As for this thing? Well… I was actually _asked_ to give it to you by the one giving me this exam- to keep the timeline stable, or whatever."

Roxas noticed that Lea didn't seem to want to tell him just _who_ was giving him the exam. Seeing how the situation was the same one he was in, though, the Nobody decided to let it slide. "So you're basically kinda babysitting me again." Though he said this, Lea looked surprised, probably wondering why Roxas just let it slide like that.

"W-wha? Hey, don't make it sound like I didn't save your butt just now!" Apparently not, he was just a bit irritated to call it 'babysitting' anymore… "Geez… Guess I should just let you be caught next time, huh?" He mock huffed, pretending to be angry.

"Hey, don't take it the wrong way, I'm glad you came to help me back there. Xehanort's pretty strong." Roxas said with a small smile before he frowned again. "... And… I wanted to apologize…"

Lea blinked, confused. "Eh? For what?"

"Don't tell me you didn't get it memorized." Roxas sighed. "About how I left and treated you… You know… forgetting about you when I was put in that fake Twilight Town. And I should've been more understanding why you wouldn't tell me anything…"

Lea blinked again, before he glanced away, a slightly pained look on his face. "...L-look, it's… It's not important, really-"

"It's important to me… because… I don't think I'll get the chance to tell you again once this is all over." Roxas said with a bitter tone in his voice, as if knowing what's to become of him when he goes back to his present. "Look, I-I heard what you told Isa back in Radiant Garden… I know why getting your name memorized is so important to you- but when I didn't remember you, it was like telling you that you weren't important enough to me… So I'm sorry."

"..." Lea sighed, leaning down a bit and ruffling Roxas's hair. "Hey… It's alright- I know you didn't mean to forget me, and it wasn't your fault. Besides…" He gave a small grin. "It turned out pretty well, to be honest! Heck… I still consider you my friend, don't I Roxas?"

Roxas looked up to him, before he grinned slightly. "... Your friend or your _best _friend?" he gave a small chuckle. "I suppose I should thank Ven for that… his meeting with you here is probably what helped made the friendship bond we have now." That's when it hit Roxas. "... Wait, Lea, do _you_ know why I look like Ventus?"

The redhead blinked in surprise before he hesitated. "Well… I have a theory, but until I see what happens here…" He shrugged. "I can't say for sure- sorry, Roxas…"

Roxas gave a sigh, glancing down sadly. "I guess I'll never know… Well… if I could have one more wish when I get back to the present… it's to go back to the top of the clock tower and have ice cream again with you… and Xio- … Xi…?" He stopped, frowning in confusion. _Wait… what? Why I do keep saying 'Xi' for?_

"Huh?" Lea blinked a bit, frowning in confusion. "With who? ...Roxas, what're you talking about? It was just thre- …" He paused. _…Why the heck do I remember a third person? I can't make out anything about them… but… They _were_ there, I remember that much…_

Roxas looked at Lea, catching his own slip up. "So it's _not_ just me then… There _was_ another person with us… but why can't we remember who it was?"

Lea frowned, shaking his head slightly. "I-I don't know… I've only had this body back for a day or two before I traveled back in time…" He sighed, glancing back at Roxas. "But… I remember saying something about always being there to bring you both back to them…"

* * *

The younger time traveler sighed before he heard the intruder alert alarm going off and the ship began to tremble. Roxas stood up, groaning in irritation. "Oh come on, _more_ problems?!"

Lea blinked before he chuckled slightly, ruffling Roxas's hair as he pulled his hood back up. "Well, I have to get back to what I was doing before- you stay safe for now, Roxas. I'll talk to you later, okay?" _Maybe while I'm watching him, I can try to figure out what's going on with my memories…_

When Roxas turned to look at him, Lea almost had to laugh, it was like the saddest puppy dog face he had ever seen on his little blond friend. "You're leaving already?"

Lea smirked under his cloak, flicking the young Nobody's nose and making his face wrinkle up. "Hey, cheer up- I said I'd be back later! But frankly, we both know this isn't the time for catching up 100%. Maybe later, alright?"

"But wait! I wanted to know how Axel will be after I find Sora!" Roxas called out, but Lea was already gone into the Dark Corridor. "... Ugh…" The young Nobody groaned in irritation at that before he ran off, trying to find the intruder- it might be an Unversed or maybe even Vanitas himself. _I mean I've already fought with Braig and Xehanort today here, so why NOT Vanitas? _He asked himself sarcastically.

* * *

**DarkFoxKit: Okay guys, first thing's first… you weren't expecting it to be LEA now did you? DID YOU!? And you may notice that Xehanort fights similarly as Xemnas did with Riku and Sora at the end of Kingdom Hearts II, this is because we believe that since Xehanort and Xemnas are technically the same person their fighting styles should be similar. And it's possible to get 24 keychains for Roxas in 358/2 Days, hence why he told Aqua he used to have 24 before coming here.**

**Key2DestNE: …. *in a full body cast* ...I am never messing with you again, Fox- even your GLOMPS are dangerous. But yeah, I can tell a lot of you are probably going nuts over it being Lea in the coat! *begins trembling in the body cast* And I was the same way when writing it! I mean, oh my GOSH that was epic! What with the sudden chakram entrance and the oh-so-cool lines, and oh my GOSH, SO EPIC! *KABOOOM!***

**DarkFoxKit: Uh-oh… there goes fanboy again- nothing can stop it once it's out, not even being in a full body cast! *dives under a table* Oh yeah, I forgot to mention about a few things inconsistent with Aqua, the first being that why didn't she just use her Keyblade to open the door in the last chapter… Yo fanboy! Mind taking this one!?**

**Key2DestNE: *is grinning widely through the cast* Hee hee~ Sure! This is the sorta thing that would happen in a cutscene, and you wouldn't see her unlocking a door in THAT kind of situation… not to mention she must have been panicked about being suddenly separated from Roxas like that- so she wasn't thinking straight. Besides, it allowed LEA to show up! SQUEEEE! *falls over due to rocking back and forth so much* ...Uh… Fox? Little help, please?**

**DarkFoxKit: Stop jumping around so much and maybe you wouldn't fall down! *helps Key up* Also, I want to address a plothole here. Aqua knows it was Roxas in that black coat, and she had seen him use the Corridor of Darkness yet she didn't ask him about it. Well this would actually be explained later on, but if you really must know now, she actually thought he was faking it, that he just used some special effects to make it look like he could summon it, that and she's most likely in denial- after all, how could such a sweet boy like Roxas use darkness like that? So yeah, asking him would just confirm it, and she didn't want that.**

**Key2DestNE: Now as for Braig's fight being too similar to the first one… Well, frankly, that's how the GAMES work. Don't forget everyone, we're treating this as how the GAMES would work in this situation, and every time you do a rematch of someone, it's in the same arena- in functionality, if not in aesthetics. You can even notice it if you replay the games or watch a Let's Play- check out any boss battle rematch, including between Braig/Xigbar and the KH characters!**

**DarkFoxKit: The same thing with using Dodge Roll- we're writing the battles as if it was in the game, so yeah, Dodge Roll is pretty important. Now I understand that this is a story writing element and not the actual game, but that's how we're treating it when we type, since if we didn't, we'd probably only do banters and skip the battles, because honestly, without the core game itself, the battles are usually sped up or skipped, have you seen the manga? They do that, a lot, including the final bosses, and I was sure you guys didn't want that.**

**Key2DestNE: Now then, what else, what else…? ...Ah- right, the opening chappie not being necessary. Well, I suppose that's true, and it IS repeated a lot on this site, but imagine if in the Matrix, you just open up with a fight- no explanation, no backstory, just a fight. You never get to know the characters. Besides, this version of Roxas is a bit more sarcastic and bitter than the canon Roxas, so we wanted to show that in the boy's thoughts during these events.**

**DarkFoxKit: It's also a bit necessary too, we didn't want to jump- oh wait, you said that already. Well, it becomes important after Roxas gets back to his original timeline. It's not unnecessary filler, but people see it that way because they've already seen the story itself, but have you thought of the people who DIDN'T see the story yet? I know a few people who didn't and they still enjoyed it because we didn't just jump right on in, we took the time to establish the characters themselves.**

**Key2DestNE: Precisely- we only RECOMMENDED that you play all the games to know the characters, not that it was REQUIRED. Now one last thing about why we did the opening chapter…. Well, it's interesting when you show exactly when things diverge from canon, but it's also interesting when you SHOW it, and that combined with all the other reasons just made the end choice of how we'd start this off made our final decision obvious, at least to us.**

**DarkFoxKit: Now… FlightfootKeyseeker, although this question was answered in the story, I must say that was a really good guess on your part, and it would've been interesting, but too bad it wasn't the case.**

**Key2DestNE: Yeah, no kidding! … *eyes light up* Ideeeaaaa~ And as for firedragoonknight, those are pretty good questions… But the chapter where Aqua found out about Roxas's Keyblade has already been posted, Chapter 7: Struggles if I remember right.**

**DarkFoxKit: As for Aqua and Roxas's relationship, well… it's most likely like with her relationship with Ventus, she sees him as a younger brother, as someone she has to protect. And the last one, I don't know yet, we don't have a plot for another Roxas fanfic in this current time frame.**

**Key2DestNE: Speak for yourself- I've already got DOZENS of ideas! *trying to write something down… while still in the full body cast* Come on, help me out Fox- my arms can't move!**

**DarkFoxKit: … Um… well anyways, that answers all the current questions, we'll answer the next ones in the next chapter. So until then… I am DarkFoxKit, this is Key2DestNE, and we look forward to hearing from you!**


	14. Chapter 13: Escapade

**Key2DestNE: Hey everybody, welcome to the next chapter of Roxas's Story! *waves***

**DarkFoxKit: Hey, uh… for those of you who had seen our last chapter, mind taking a look at the AN again? Key and I revised it together since it was too lonely with just me.**

**Key2DestNE: Eheheh… Yeah, sorry I wasn't on before everybody- had writer's block. *mutters under his breath* Still do, technically, but DarkFoxKitten wouldn't take no for an answer on this…**

**DarkFoxKit: STOP CALLING ME KITTEN! I WAS SCRATCHED BY A CAT SO SHUT IT! *pushes Key off the cliff* … Don't worry, it's only a prop! Anyways… yeah, check them out, we answered a few more questions with better clarity. But now we're going to talk about THIS chapter here… at the bottom.**

**Key2DestNE: Yeah, not much to say this time. Still getting over my fanboy hype from the previous chapter, so I guess now we'll see you all at the bottom! *waves* Oh, and we don't own Kingdom Hearts, at ALL. That's Square Enix and Disney, complain to them that this didn't happen- the only thing that's ours are the unique boss fights and how Roxas fits into the BBS storyline!**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Escapade**

Roxas then heard some blasting going on in another room, and suddenly 626 himself busted out of the door! "626!?"

The little blue alien waved at him, grinning happily. "Roxas!" Then he tilted his head to the side, as if gesturing the boy to follow, before he began to scamper forward.

Roxas smiled as he hurried after 626, hoping he'll take him to the intruder. Working with the little alien, he figured it'll be easy to take on whoever it was like this since they took down Gantu together. The two did have to fight a few Unversed along the way, but nothing they couldn't handle, and soon, they stopped near the center of the ship.

"More Unversed!" Roxas pointed out. 626 said something in his alien language, and the two dispatched it at the same time… and landed in front of another familiar boy, surprising both Roxas and the look alike. "Wha!?"

The boy blinked in shock, both of them nearly falling on their butts at the surprising meet-up. "W-what the!? Roxas? What the heck are _you_ doing here?"

"Ventus!? Why the heck are _you_ here!?" Roxas asked in shock at the exact same time Ven did.

626 chuckled, seeming to find this quite amusing, before he said, "Ven? Aq...u… a… Terra… Roxas!"

Ven blinked in surprise, bending down to look at the alien. "Huh? You know Terra and Aqua?" Then he paused, glancing at Roxas. "Well… then again, you were traveling with Roxas- I shouldn't be _that_ surprised."

"Wait, wait, wait… why are you here, Ven?" Roxas asked again, still confused as to why his apparent twin was even here in the first place. _Did he trigger the intruder alert? … Well at least it's Ven and not Vanitas, I had enough of those tough battles for one day._

The young look alike frowned, glancing around. "I… might've accidentally caused a huge Unversed to latch onto this ship- so I'm trying to find it before it does any more damage!"

"You did WHAT!?" Roxas shouted at his face. "Ugh… if it's not one thing it's another!"

Ven huffed, crossing his arms. "Hey, it's not my fault the Unversed snuck onboard before I could destroy it-" The ship suddenly shook, causing all three of them to lose their balance. "W-whoa! ...Ugh, what am I _doing_?! There's no time for this!"

Roxas looked over at Ven who was running, but he said, "Wait, I'll come with you and-"

Ven shook his head, stopping Roxas. "No, Roxas- stay here! This was my fault, I have to do this by myself! Besides, I can't let this little guy get hurt." He smiled a bit, glancing down at 626.

"But-" Roxas didn't get a chance to finish as Ven ran off. "Oh come on!" he grumbled before turning to 626. "We should go after him!"

* * *

626 gave him a nod, determination shining in his eyes. "Ven… friend. Roxas… friend."

Roxas smiled at him before he turned around. "Let's go-"

"Not so fast!" Gantu himself stormed in, holding out his huge plasma gun. "You're not going anywhere but to exile, you little abomination."

Roxas glared as he stood in front of the little blue alien. "What are you doing here, Gantu? Shouldn't you be looking for the intruder?"

The huge alien narrowed his eyes dangerously. "I _was_\- however, I happened to look inside 626's jail cell, and noticed he was missing! After that, it was a simple task to locate him since he follows you around like a homeless puppy!" He fired off a single plasma shot, hitting the Experiment and sending him flying backwards. "I don't know how you did it, but you won't get away again."

Roxas ran over to 626, frowning worriedly. "Are you okay?" Then he noticed the little alien's Wayfinder was shattered and it didn't look too happy about it. Roxas frowned at this before he turned back to Gantu. "You didn't have to destroy what was precious to him!"

Gantu scoffed, his plasma gun still pointed at both of them. "Please- the little abomination can bat his eyes at the Grand Council Woman to reconsider her sentence, but I see him for what he _really_ is- a living weapon that's only instinct is to destroy everything it touches! That trinket of it's would have been destroyed anyways."

What Gantu said here brought back memories of Roxas's time in the Organization. How everyone keeps telling him who he is and who he should be, about how Nobodies are just those without hearts and that he should be a machine to get them back. Fighting Heartless, going through worlds, to them he wasn't a child or someone at all, just a tool who has a Keyblade to destroy Heartless and give them what they want. "So that's all he is to you? Nothing but some destructive monster?"

Gantu scoffed, gesturing at 626, who by now looked like he was going to _destroy_ the much larger alien with a single glare! "Just look at him- he's done nothing but growl at me, attack me, and call me insults! Not to mention his genetically programmed instincts are proof that he's nothing but a living _time bomb_."

Roxas looked over at 626, who looked back at him, neither of them said anything to each other, but it was like Roxas knew what the little alien wanted, and he nodded. "I don't think so, you're just scared because you don't understand." Suddenly, Roxas jumped back as 626 curled into a ball and he used his Keyblade to bat the little alien right through Gantu's face, and he bounced through the wall, causing 626 to crash into a window into another part of the ship! "Right behind ya!" He quickly jumped through, landing in what looked like the engine room.

* * *

Ven jumped in surprise, seeing both of his friends land right beside him. "W-wha!? What are you guys doing here? I told you to stay put! You guys could get hurt…" Experiment 626 was still growling, and he shouted out a couple of things in his native language. "...What is it?"

Roxas looked pretty upset himself, as if someone just insulted him. "We'll talk later, Ven." He was pretty surprised at how big this… jellyfish Unversed was, but he didn't really show it. "We just need to blow off some steam!"

Ven blinked slowly, but he didn't have any time to respond, for the jellyfish Unversed suddenly charged all three of them! "Whoa!" He barely jumped out of the way, Roxas and Experiment 626 doing the same before the alien began firing his plasma gun like crazy.

Roxas ran around the room before he managed to jump using the engine and then hacked at the Unversed's head, sending it down into the ground, allowing 626 and Ven to strike at it.

The look-alike began firing off a couple spells, but he got in a bunch of melee attacks in as well before the jellyfish got up off the ground and flew around the area. "Oh come on! This is gonna be a long fight, isn't it!?"

Roxas frowned as it kept flying around before spinning like a twister and lunged at them, he and Ven quickly had to dodge roll out of the way while 626 managed to jump out of the way. The Ven slide at the Unversed with flames around him, using Fire Dash. Roxas ran up at the Unversed, trying to hit it. Ven used Aeroga to create a small tornado around himself and Roxas ended up caught in it, but instead of hurting him, the Nobody rode it around and gave a hard hit at the jellyfish Unversed.

626 growled angrily, firing off a bunch of shots that flew in every direction- thankfully it hit the Unversed most of the time, but a few hit the ship. Ven frowned worriedly, before he suddenly began to glow green. "Whoa! ...Heh- alright!" He grinned, before suddenly dashing forwards at speeds Roxas could barely keep up with! "Command Style: Fever Pitch!"

Roxas's jaw almost dropped at this. _You've got to be kidding me! Even VENTUS knows a Command style? Sheesh, I feel so out of the loop right now… _He grumbled under his breath before firing off a few Blizzagas.

Roxas, despite being used to shocking situations, felt his eye twitch as Ven began to slash and hack away at the Unversed as fast as the eye could see. He tried to not focus on it, however, slashing away at the Unversed from underneath.

"Hey! What's that thing doing to the energy core!?" Roxas shouted when he noticed the jellyfish seems to be attached and sucking the light electricity energy from the engine core.

"It looks like it's trying to absorb the power." Ven said as he landed beside the look alike Nobody.

Roxas didn't like how high it was, making it impossible to reach without some climbing, but at this rate it'll suck the ship dry! Then he heard 626 calling out for him, bouncing up and down. "I have an idea! We can use 626 to take it down!"

Ventus frowned in confusion at that, glancing over at the little alien. "Huh? What do you mean by-" His eyes widened in shock, seeing his double pick up 626 and literally toss him at the Unversed! "Whoa! What the!?"

626 managed to bounce off the jellyfish Unversed and caused it to let go of the energy core, which made it become angry as it began to spin around like a torpedo coming right at them! Roxas and Ven tried to dodge it, but it was too big, too wide and too fast that both of them were hit! Roxas was sent into a wall and grumbled under his breath, "I seem to be hitting the walls lately."

Ven groaned, quickly standing up. "C'mon Roxas, we're almost done with this fight!" The Nobody blinked in surprise, before he noticed that the Unversed _did_ look like it was running out of steam, especially because it was just flying high, and not trying to attack them this time.

Roxas nodded as he ran out after it, following Ven. 626 was firing his plasma gun at the jellyfish Unversed, making it hard for it to get away. Roxas noticed that he and Ven were running at a similar pace with each other, but he didn't take notice for long as the two boys got closer. The Unversed, in its desperation cloaked itself, turning invisible.

"Wah!?" Ven shouted in shock, but Roxas looked around, easily sensing its darkness and negativity.

"Over there!" Roxas shot out three fireballs. "FIRE!" the Unversed gave a noise of pain and anger, the cloak blinking away.

Still not down yet, the jellyfish Unversed tried to shock them as it approached with its… 'arms' out wide and unleashing powerful amount of electricity. 626 managed to jump at it, avoiding the electricity emitting from the bottom and began scratching at it. Ven threw his Keyblade at it, using Strike Raid.

Roxas ran up closer to it before turning to Ven, who nodded to him. "WIND!" he cast Areoaga again, re-creating that mini-tornado. Roxas jumped into it and rode it like before and slashed at the Unversed, effectively destroying it.

* * *

The Key to Destiny sighed in relief as he landed. _At least the battle wasn't nearly as long or bad as the previous ones. Compared to Braig, Vanitas, Xehanort, heck even Gantu, that Unversed wasn't so bad!_ But when Roxas was reminded of Gantu, anger came back to his being. Gantu had caused nothing but trouble since he first arrived on this ship, and he accused 626 of being nothing but a monster, yet he laughs when he destroyed what was precious to his little blue alien friend, so who was the_ real _monster here? In his anger, Roxas was also reminded of when he discovered that his life in the virtual Twilight Town was all a fake and he was captured there. Still furious, Roxas ended up throwing his Keyblade at the energy core, causing a lot of sparks.

626 was also yelling and screaming at the air, clearly still furious. Ven sighed, facepalming. "Hey, it's over! Cut it out!" He gently put a hand on the alien's back, but in his fury, 626 threw him to the ground! "Whoa! Geez… What's gotten into you two?"

Roxas and 626 panted a bit before both of them calmed down, sighing. It was kinda weird how the two of them both were angry about the similar things. 626 slowly turned and showed Ven his broken Wayfinder, and Roxas turned giving a sad look of his own. "Gantu broke 626's Wayfinder and called him a monster. He also… brought back some painful memories for me. I guess 626 also felt my own rage and acted out."

Ven frowned worriedly, before he chuckled slightly. "Hey… don't worry, 626- friendship's more than an object." He glanced up at Roxas, patting the look alike's shoulder. "And Roxas… the past is in the past- it may hurt, but… well, you gotta get past it- I don't know what memories you recalled, but you've just gotta make good ones first."

The Nobody gave a blush, he felt rather embarrassed at his outburst of rage, especially in front of Ventus. He thought he was able to control himself better than that, especially since he supposedly doesn't have a heart to really _feel_ anger, but then again, maybe the Organization was like Gantu and convinced themselves they are what they are and that was it, and now he's starting to realize why Braig called him a loose cannon before. "I'm… sorry Ven, I didn't mean to explode like that." He bent down to 626 and pat his head. "And thank you 626- for an alien experiment who can't even speak my language, you sure seem to understand me more than most people do."

"Hmph. Don't let the mimic fool you." Roxas and 626 froze before they both glared, turning around and glaring at Captain Gantu. "You saw for yourself what kind of _monster_ that thing is, all it knows how to do is hurt and destroy!"

"No, you're wrong!" Roxas said in defiance. "626 could be so much more than that, but you have to give him a chance!"

The little blue alien nodded, still glaring at Gantu. "Ven, Roxas! Frien!"

Ven smiled a bit, nodding determinedly. "That's right- we _are_ friends! And that's proof of just how somebody can change if given the chance!"

Roxas smiled at Ven before nodding. "That's right… friends can help you change for the better."

Gantu only glared, scoffing. "Oh please, _nobody_ wants to be that monstrosity's friend!"

"Well you're wrong, because he's _our_ friend!" Roxas snapped.

"Hmph." Gantu smirked, pointing his plasma gun at 626 once more. "Better say your goodbyes now then, because 626 is about to be _destroyed_!" Before he could fire, the little alien launched himself at Gantu's face and pushed him over.

"Come on Ven!" Roxas suddenly shouted, grabbing his twin's arm and dragging him as he ran after 626 who got off of Gantu and ran ahead. "You don't want to fight that guy, he hits like a truck!"

"Oof! HEY! Sound the alert! Prisoners on the loose! DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!" Gantu's cries could be heard even as the three of them escaped through the ship's corridors.

Roxas gasped when he saw more soldiers coming their way. "No, I absolutely refuse to go through this _again_!" he looked around quickly and saw a ventilation hole. "626, you go through here, Ven and I will meet you outside of this ship!"

626 nodded, not hesitating as he trusted them before he hurried into the ventilation system. Roxas turned to Ven, "Come on, summon your Keyblade Glider and let's ride out of here!" _I do think NOW is the time for me to leave._

The Keyblade Wielder chuckled in amusement, summoning Wayward Wind and tossing it into the air. "You got it, Roxas!" He quickly summoned his armor, jumping on the Keyblade Glider. "Hop on!"

* * *

Roxas didn't hesitate as he jumped on the Glider and held onto Ven to allow the armor to get on him. They managed to fly out of the ship just before the soldiers caught up to them, and at the same time, a red spaceship came flying out. 626 was riding the red spaceship and flew beside them, having the time of his life!

"YEEHA!" The little blue alien laughed loudly, honking on the horn and playing the first few notes to 'La Cucaracha'. Then he waved at Roxas and Ven, grinning happily.

"Where are we going?" Ven asked, frowning in confusion.

"Somewhere far away from here!" Roxas said to him.

Suddenly they were being shot at, they turned to see they were being chased by dozens of blue spaceships similar to the red one 626 was driving. 626 snapped at them in irritation as he began maneuvering the ship to avoid the plasma shots, this had Roxas hanging onto Ven as they too had to dodge.

Beginning to panic a bit, 626 quickly broke what looked like a handle and yanked it out, revealing a huge rod connected to the back of it. **"Hyperdrive has been activated. System charging."** All three of them blinked, confused. **"Warning. Guidance is not functional. Navigation failure. Do not engage hyperdrive. Repeat. Do not engage-"** Panicking more, 626 quickly shoved the handle back in, and he gulped worriedly.

The ships around them seemed to know the danger, however. "Break formation! Get clear of that ship!" And with that, they quickly scattered away.

626 quickly leaned on the glass and tried to tell the two boys something in his alien language. "What is it? What's going on?" Ven asked, not getting it.

Roxas, however, seemed to understand that 626 wanted them to get away. "Ven, I think we should get away!"

"What? Why?" Ven asked, glancing back at his look alike in confusion.

It was too late, however- the ship had already activated the hyperdrive and sent out the shockwaves! "VEN! ROXAS!" 626 shouted as his spaceship disappeared into hyperspace.

Ven and Roxas were caught in the shockwaves, sending them both off the Keyblade Glider. Roxas, not wanting to get caught out here without any protection, grabbed Ven's hand and held on as tight as he could as they began falling. The Nobody quickly summoned a Dark Corridor around them, Ven didn't notice thankfully, but it kept them from floating out into the Realms of Between. Once again, it felt like Roxas was floating, only this time Ventus was here with him, and then the gravity became heavier and heavier. Roxas accidentally let go of Ven's hand and the armor came off him as he fell away from Ven's direction.

Roxas gritted his teeth, feeling darkness begin to cover his vision. _N-no… can't… lose consciousness… yet…! _He flailed blindly in the darkness, before he suddenly found a location. _T-there… gotta… get us there… somehow…!_

The Nobody fought to stay conscious as they fell into the world. Ven had fallen in a completely different direction while Roxas fell somewhere else. The time traveler soon fell into some trees, getting all the leaves and branches caught in his shirt and hair, snapping the branches. Finally, he landed on the ground with a small crater forming around him. "GAH!" Roxas cried out in pain, feeling his body betraying him as it shut down right before he fell unconscious.

* * *

…_Oh… I'm here again… I've been arriving in this location a lot lately, huh? That… probably isn't a good sign…_

"_Roxas…"_

_Oh… it's you. Did you know about Lea? Is that why you told me to stay until it was time for me to go? Did you… know all _that_ was going to happen in that spaceship?_

"_I… didn't know about… Lea… but I knew… what was going to happen… when Aqua left…"_

_But… you made it sound like you knew it was going to happen… wait… you knew what happened when Aqua left? What do you mean by that?_

"_Roxas… you had… to meet Ventus there… After all… I…"_

_Wait, that doesn't make any sense… why did I need to meet Ven there?_

"_...I… remember…"_

… _Who are you? You never told me your name, but… I'm starting to figure out that maybe you're someone I also know very well, just like that person in the cloak turned out to be Axel, even though he calls himself Lea._

_I was walking… The strange dream was becoming more and more solid, in fact, I can see the ground, which was sand, and I can make out the sky and the blurry trees in the distant. It was almost as if I was walking closer to the voice who was talking to me and the closer I got, the more solid the dream became and the clearer the voice was._

"_...You do… know me… but you didn't… before coming here…"_

_I stopped near what appeared to be a cottage house. "... Is it because you're supposed to be someone of this timeline?" I blinked… My voice, I can actually talk now._

"_Yes… you… met me eleven years before… you 'existed'..."_

_I opened the door to the cottage, and there was a person in there. It was too blurry to make out, but I could see blond and white, brown and black. "... You… are you…?"_

* * *

"Roxas… Roxas… Roxas, wake up!"

Roxas jolted up, causing the person who was trying to wake him up to flinch back in shock. "Wah!?"

"Why are we stopping for this little brat?" a sailor's accent voice spoke up in what sounded like irritation.

A familiar voice responded, and he didn't sound pleased. "Maybe he's a brat to you… but I _know_ this boy- I'm not sure how he got here, but I'm still going to try to keep him safe!" Roxas blinked slowly, turning around to see Terra! "You okay, Roxas?"

The boy didn't answer at first, as if confused whether this was real or not, before he blinked a few times and groaned in pain as he felt the aftermaths of falling from the sky, hitting the trees and landing on the ground, HARD. "Ow…" he shook his head before blinking as if trying to get rid of the blurriness. "Terra?"

The brown haired man sighed in relief, patting Roxas's shoulder. "Good… you're alright-" Roxas grunted in pain and almost fell back down, and Terra's eyes widened. "...Or maybe not…." He dug around in his pockets before pulling out a Hi Potion. "Here- take this. It should heal most of your wounds."

"Thanks…" Roxas said gratefully as he took the bottle. "Ugh… what happened?" he moaned as if he didn't remember what happened before he fell from the sky and the harsh landing.

Terra shrugged, frowning a bit. "I was going to ask you the same question… Captain Hook here and I heard what sounded like something big falling on the trees not far off from where we were- and when we arrive at the location, we find you here. What happened?"

"The little brat probably fell on his head and lost his memories." another man in red said as he seem to fiddle with his mustache with his… hook hand?

Roxas shook his head as he thought about it… 626… Gantu… finding Ven… fighting Unversed… Hyperdrive… shockwave… falling… separated from Ven… falling into the trees... the dream… The Nobody remembered it all, but apparently Terra didn't know that as he put a gentle hand on his back, making Roxas look at him in confusion.

The brown haired man gave a soft smile, and even though Roxas could tell he was still a bit concerned for Roxas, there was also a bit of warmth in his eyes. "Hey… You don't have to remember it right away- for now, let's get you someplace a bit safer. Perhaps you can help me with something I'm trying to help Captain Hook with while you recover."

"Captain… Hook?" Roxas questioned before getting a small memory relapse of Sora fighting with Captain Hook, causing him with a minor headache. "Gah!"

Terra frowned worriedly, quickly catching Roxas as the boy fell forward, clutching his head. "R-Roxas, don't push yourself- just try to relax for now…" _Why did mentioning Captain Hook cause another headache for him?_

"So this scurvy little boy is a friend of yours? What, is he your little brother or something?" Captain Hook asked in annoyance.

"M-maybe, Captain." a shorter and more pudgy man said from beside him. "I mean, they look like they care for each other a lot."

Terra chuckled a bit, shaking his head. "No, we aren't brothers- but we're close friends, of course I would be worried about him."

Roxas gave a small smile before speaking up. "It's okay Terra… I can walk on my own… I just had a nasty fall."

Terra blinked at that, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "You had a 'nasty fall' that caused a small crater in the ground? Frankly, Roxas, where did you fall _from_ to get that kind of damage?"

"Hyperdrive… don't _ever_ get too close when something goes into freaking hyperdrive." Roxas said with his left eye twitching a bit.

Terra blinked at that, feeling lost, but Captain Hook started to grumble. "Are you going to defend the chest or not, young man!? Ye seem to be interested in keeping the light safe!"

"Don't worry, I will, I just want to make sure Roxas is okay, he can help defend the light." Terra said to him, getting annoyed with the man's impatience.

Roxas blinked, confused. "What's this about a chest and the light?" _Wait… Captain Hook… I remember fighting him in Neverland! … He doesn't look any different now than he does in the future… Why would he defend light?_

Terra frowned, pointing behind him. "Back there is a chest- Captain Hook was about to move it to Skull Rock, but apparently it's full of the light in this world, and a boy named Peter Pan keeps attempting to steal it."

The young Nobody frowned at that. _Full of the world's light? That doesn't make any sense, you can't contain light, not in a wooden box anyway. And someone like Captain Hook wouldn't protect the light, he might either steal and sell it for profit or destroy it himself. I can sense the darkness of greed in him… Not to mention a place called 'Skull Rock' should be a red flag._

Terra didn't notice Roxas's frown, though, glancing at Captain Hook. "Speaking of which, shouldn't you be moving the chest by now? I don't think it's safe if he knows where it is."

"That's why I have you as my bodyguard, it's your job to keep it safe." Captain Hook said as if it was fact.

Roxas stood up and watched as Terra walked over to the chest. The smaller pirate was lifting it up. "Be careful with that Smee!" Hook shouted at him. "If you break it, I'll gut you like the codfish you are!"

"Y-yes Cap'n! Understood, Cap'n!" Smee saluted, but doing so nearly made him drop the chest. "O-oops! Sorry, cap'n…"

Terra turned to Roxas and said, still frowning a bit worriedly, "Are you sure you okay? You had some pretty bad scars earlier."

"I'm fine… I've survived worse." Roxas assured him as he was able to walk without cringing so much anymore. "But… are you sure we can believe him?"

Terra nodded, determination in his eyes. "I don't have any reason to distrust him, Roxas- besides, he needed my help defending the chest when I first met him, even if he wasn't willing to admit it at the time."

"... But he's a _pirate_… don't you think it'd make sense if the chest was actually just treasure and he wants you to protect it because- OW!" Roxas felt something hit his head from behind. He grumbled, glancing around in irritation. _Who just did that?_

Terra blinked, noticing Roxas rubbing his head. "...Are you sure you're alright, Roxas? You look like you're still aching a bit…"

"No, I just felt something- OW!" Roxas yelped, feeling it get hit again. _Seriously, WHAT THE HECK!?_

Terra frowned, looking at Roxas in concern. "...You're positive you're completely fine now, Roxas?" _He might still be feeling pain from falling so hard…_

Roxas grumbled, knowing Captain Hook must be hitting him if he spoke out of line. "I'm fine, just getting some HEADACHES from bringing up stuff."

Terra frowned worriedly. _Frankly, that doesn't sound good… _"Well, let's get to Skull Rock, and you can rest while I protect the chest there, Roxas."

Roxas sighed, shaking his head in reassignment. "Fine, fine." _I'm keeping an eye on Captain Hook, he's clearly just using Terra._

* * *

**DarkFoxKit: Nice, huh? Went from Deep Space and fell down all the way into Neverland. One never just FELL to Neverland, they usually have to fly there, but Roxas is always doing things the unique way doesn't he? And we've come to a full circle, he's back with Terra again.**

**Key2DestNE: Yeah, not bad. Did anybody else enjoy Captain Hook's way of keeping Roxas silent? *chuckles* We couldn't resist putting in how the codfish deals with a Nobody!**

**DarkFoxKit: And before you ask 'why didn't Roxas just attack Captain Hook', it's because he knows when not to just fight back, plus, his memory of Pence did help him prepare for time travel as he stated in the previous chapter. 626 is perhaps the closest to Roxas since Roxas spent the most time with the little blue alien compared to the other three, so those two can understand each other more easily than Ven could with 626.**

**Key2DestNE: Yeah, especially since Ven didn't particularly lose anything meaningful to him… Roxas and 626 BOTH did, so they know how painful it feels. Hmm… let's move onto reviews now, shall we? First off, some of you are wondering how we're going to top last chapter. Well… to be frank, we're not- at least, not until the ending. C'mon, do you guys really think we'd be going on a constant uphill scale from here? Even in the games themselves, there's a bit of time for you to cool down from one exciting climax before tossing the next one at you!**

**DarkFoxKit: Antex-The Legendary Zoroark, by far our most loyal reviewer who has reviewed just about every chapter. Always a delight to see your review! And yes, it was quite a shock wasn't it? Nobody was expecting Lea to be here, eh?**

**Key2DestNE: Heh- of course they didn't, but you can sort of see his way of speaking when you look back at the mysterious figure's words. You know, in case you want to go back and see for yourself!**

**DarkFoxKit: And as for Xion, she'll become an important motivation for Roxas, especially near the end. If only this actually did happen in the game, that'd be interesting.**

**Key2DestNE: Now some of you are also coming up with theories as to why Lea is taking the same exam as Sora and Riku. Well… go ahead and say them, and any other theories you all come up with! They may or may not be right, but it'd still be interesting to see what you all come up with.**

**DarkFoxKit: Fantasysword92375, you're thinking we'll have Roxas learn a Command Style? Heh… hee, hee, hee… I won't directly answer that, but get a good look at Roxas as a boss in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, see if there's anything that could be used as a Command Style there- that's all I have to say to that.**

**Key2DestNE: Now onto the next review! I'm glad you enjoyed it, DukeScarlet, and we may or may not have had a Namine pairing in here. THAT… is up to you~ *winks mysteriously* Seriously though, we never mention Namine in this story, so you can think what you want of her and how Roxas feels towards her.**

**DarkFoxKit: And we answered that 'Aqua forgetting Roxas using the Corridor of Darkness' question in our last and revised AN, so be sure to check that out if you haven't already.**

**Key2DestNE: One last- …. *he has an empty review box* ...Huh. I guess we covered all the reviews that didn't say "Oh, great job" or "Time travel is a headache!", huh?**

**DarkFoxKit: Yeah, looks like. Time travel does tend to give people a headache, but we explained the best we could- if you still didn't get it, try to PM us and we'll do what we can to help explain it better to you. But until then, I'm DarkFoxKit, he's Key2DestNE and we look forward to hearing from you!**


	15. Chapter 14: Bonding Through D-Links

**DarkFoxKit: Hmmm~ Hmm~ Hmm~ Hmm? Oh! The camera's already rolling? Why didn't you tell me!? *blushes as she quickly puts her 3DS away***

**Key2DestNE: *chuckles* Simple- because you were playing Luigi's Mansion again. Besides, I DID tell you the camera was about to roll~**

**DarkFoxKit: No you didn't! And I was playing Mario and Luigi Dream Team! *growls* But anyway! You-**

**Key2DestNE: Abup-bup-bup! *puts a finger to her lips* We have to do Roxas's AN first, or you'll have a very angry Nobody on your hands~**

**DarkFoxKit: *crosses arms, growling* Fine! This is the continuation of Neverland with Terra for Roxas, and we put in an… _interesting_ boss battle for Roxas here.**

**Key2DestNE: Hee hee~ Oh yes, yes we did… *chuckles, sitting back* We never fight this guy after all, most likely due to the mechanics being too difficult to implement in-game.**

**DarkFoxKit: But regardless, we think it was an interesting battle. But before we spoil anything else, we'll let you guys read and answer the questions at the bottom! Key, the disclaimer please.**

**Key2DestNE: Yes ma'am! *salutes* We don't own anything written below- only the occasional boss battle and lines that go off-script. K? K! Sounds good!**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Bonding Through D-Links**

There were some Unversed along the way, which Terra and Roxas managed to destroy without too much trouble. Roxas became curious though… "Terra… I saw Aqua and Ven using something called the Command Style… can you use one too?"

Terra blinked at that, surprised, before nodding. "Well… of course- we actually each received one from fighting the light orbs back at the Mark of Mastery. Do you remember us doing that?"

"Yeah, I did. I didn't join in because at the time I didn't want you guys knowing I could fight, obviously." Roxas said. "But I never saw you guys using those until just recently, it looked pretty powerful and advanced."

The older man nodded, chuckling slightly. "I suppose… then again, I personally was having trouble learning how to use it until recently- I don't know about the others, but activating a specific Command Style is difficult to do."

"Could I see what yours is?" Roxas asked, looking like a little kid asking his parents to get him a pet for Christmas. Because they were still walking, Captain Hook just ignored them.

Terra raised an eyebrow before chuckling faintly. "Well… I suppose I can activate it when we fight Unversed next time- but to be honest, my favorite Command Style is rather ironic if you know my name's origins."

"Really? Why? Does it have something to do with water?" Roxas asked curious. "Or maybe wind? Perhaps fire even?"

The older Keyblade Wielder just gave a small grin before some Unversed popped up around them. Captain Hook quickly pulled out his sword, staying at the rear of the group near the chest. "Well… I suppose you'll have your answer sooner than you thought, eh Roxas?" Terra chuckled, beginning to grow a familiar bright brown. "Command Style: Rock Breaker!"

Roxas's eyes widened when he heard that name, horrible flashbacks of Xehanort using that very move on him and how he was so easily defeated by it. However, Terra didn't seem to notice as he shot out a huge pillar of rock at the Unversed, causing Roxas to see flashes of Xehanort on Terra. The Nobody quickly shook his head and rubbed his forehead. _No, no, it's just a coincidence, don't think about it._

Terra paused when he finished off the last Unversed with his Command Style, noticing Roxas looked upset. "...Roxas? Are you okay?" He frowned, growing concerned once more.

Roxas shook his head and tried to give a smile, not wanting to worry Terra. "N-nothing, it's nothing! It's just… I had some bad experience with… big rocks."

The brown-haired man frowned worriedly, but Roxas just kept smiling. "...If you're positive, Roxas…" He sighed, reluctantly dropping the subject. _I wonder what happened while I was away from Roxas- he's acting odd._

Roxas quickly faced away from him, not wanting Terra to read his face or his eyes. _Why? _Why _did it have to be Rock Breaker?_

"Come on, come on, don't slow us down!" Hook snapped while he and Smee continued to carry their precious chest.

Terra looked over at Roxas again, who looked a little uneasy. "... So Roxas, can you do a Command Style?"

Roxas looked up at him and shook his head slowly. "No… I didn't even _know_ about them until recently."

"Hmm…" That got Terra thinking. _For someone who can wield dual wield Keyblades, he sure doesn't seem to know how to use them to their full potential… I would've thought his Master would at least teach him the Shotlocks or Command Style if not how to summon the Keyblade Glider… I wonder if he knows about D-Links yet? _"Roxas, what about D-Links? Surely you know how to forge those, right?"

This received a blank Roxas, who just looked at him cluelessly… something Terra isn't quite used to seeing, though he had seen Roxas like that before when they talked about not hiding his abilities from his friends, the boy usually knows what he's doing. "D- what now?"

The older man blinked, half-surprised to learn Roxas didn't know about D-Links either. "...D-Links. You haven't heard of them?" Roxas frowned in confusion, slowly shaking his head. "Essentially you can borrow the energy of someone you have bonded with in some way with a certain spell- for example, I have Aqua and Ven's D-Links."

"... You can do that?" Roxas asked, tilting his head in confusion. _There was never any mention about this D-Link before, not even in Sora's memories._

Terra nodded, giving a faint smile. "Yeah, they're usually quite pleasant- although you have to make a small effort to make one as a Keyblade Wielder, it isn't too difficult. You mainly just have to know how to make one." Then he held out a hand. "Would you like to try it with me?"

Roxas looked at his hand curiously, frowning in confusion. "Forming a D-Link…. with someone you've bonded with? … Have we bonded, Terra?"

Terra chuckled at the question, shrugging. "Well… I've made a bond with you- but it isn't the other way around yet. I thought you had, but I suppose not… especially if you don't know the spell for-"

"No, it's not that…" Roxas spoke up, surprising Terra a little bit. "It's not that I don't see you as a friend, Terra, it's just… how do I know if I really bonded with someone?"_ Especially since I don't supposedly have any heart TO bond with?_

Terra blinked slowly, surprised by the question. _…He doesn't know if he's bonded with someone or not…? …Hmm… _He frowned in thought, crossing his arms. "Well… if you touch someone, and you feel a… I suppose you would call it a 'spark', that's the most common way to tell. But… well… sometimes it varies from different people or species, but you'll know it's there when you feel a connection. You can try it if you want, to see if we've bonded." He held out his hand a second time, shrugging.

* * *

Roxas looked a bit hesitant, getting a brief flashback of Riku doing the same before, but then the Nobody nodded, deciding to go for it. Captain Hook and Smee hadn't noticed they had stopped and were behind them as they kept going. Roxas reached out his hand to touch Terra's, but before they could come in contact… "SMEEEEEE! THAT BLASTED CROCODILE THAT TOOK ME HAND IS BAAAACK!"

Terra and Roxas both blinked in surprise, turning to see the hook-wearing man hastily backing up from a bright green crocodile! Roxas's jaw dropped, recognizing the beast almost instantly. _That thing was alive for 11 years!?_

The pirate was screaming like a scared girl while Smee was trying to help calm him down. "It's okay Captin! H-he can't r-reach you u-up here!"

"TERRA! GET RID OF THAT MONSTER!" Hook shouted frantically.

Roxas couldn't help but cover his mouth to muffle his laughter, this was always so funny to watch.

Terra blinked in surprise, but he shrugged, walking over to the crocodile. "Go on, get out of here!" The crocodile seemingly scoffed, but he pointed his Keyblade at it. "You're cold-blooded, right? So if I make the water you're in freezing cold..."

The crocodile looked at Terra as if daring him to do that. Roxas kept trying to keep himself from laughing. _My side's killing me!_

Terra smirked a bit at the unspoken challenge. "Alright, if you insist… Freeze!" He fired off a small orb of light blue light, and when it hit the water the crocodile was in, it froze instantly, making the large reptile begin to chatter from the cold! "You were saying?"

The crocodile made a snapping sound as if annoyed before it turned around and swam away, diving under water. As soon as the crocodile was gone, Captain Hook managed to calm down. "You did good Terra… Now let's just get the booty to the Skull Island. Smee! Help me get the chest onto that boat!"

Terra sighed, shaking his head in slight amusement before glancing back at Roxas, who was practically rolling around on the ground trying to keep his laughter down to a decent level. _I suppose I'm not the only one who finds it ironic how terrified the Captain is of that crocodile… It's just a reptile, after all!_

"You know Roxas, it's not nice to laugh at people." Terra said to the laughing boy, though he said it in a light hearted tone.

Roxas had to calm himself down before he could speak up. "S-sorry, it's just… I can't believe the captain of pirates is scared of one crocodile!"

"Shut up and either get on the boat or be left behind!" Hook shouted at them angrily, trying to hide his embarrassment.

The blond haired boy chuckled a bit more, but he quickly joined Terra on the small dingy as Smee began to row as hard as he could towards a skull-shaped rock in the distance.

* * *

Roxas couldn't help but make conversation with Smee, leaning against the treasure chest. "So do you like working with Captain Hook? I mean you don't seem like such a… 'pirate' kind of guy, and he seems to just treat you badly. Why do you still hang out with him?" The Nobody wanted to talk to Terra, and maybe ask him about that D-Link again, but Terra was busy looking out for any potential danger.

Smee grinned happily, shaking his head. "Oh no, I don't mind at all! The captain's just feeling a little… moody right now, that's all." He continued to row as he spoke, the skull-shaped rock growing closer and closer. "Why, I wouldn't be his first mate if he didn't think of me highly!"

"... You're his first mate?" _I guess that would explain why Captain Hook always has Smee around. Maybe they're like best of friends but having a different kind of bond._ Roxas thought to himself. _Speaking of bonds… I wonder if Terra forgot about that D-Link? I wonder how it works…_

Smee nodded, still brightly grinning. "Of course! The cap'n is always trusting me with the most important duties, including keeping the other crewmates from getting too rowdy most days!"

Roxas blinked at that. "Wait… 'Other crewmates'? Captain Hook actually has an entire _crew_?" _When I saw him 11 years later, he didn't have a crew- he had Heartless issues, but not a whole _crew_ of other pirates!_

"Yes, of course he does!" Smee said as if it was fact. "I actually had to calm them down this morning!"

"Huh… I just find it odd that I only see the two of you." Roxas said as they stopped on Skull Island.

The first mate shrugged, giving a slight frown. "They all decided to go after the Indian tribes today- Cap'n Hook let them so they wouldn't try a mutiny, so it's just him and I." Then he turned, beginning to lift the chest. "Now one moment!"

Terra watched as Captain Hook and Smee took the treasure chest into the cave before he turned to Roxas, who was looking around the island like a curious child. _I think I saw this place before while I was fighting The Ruler of the Skies Heartless, but I don't think I really got a good chance to explore it._

Terra chuckled slightly, looking at how innocent Roxas looked at that moment. _Heh… he really does act like Ven a lot, doesn't he…? _He smiled softly, before flicking Roxas's forehead to get his attention. "Hey, Roxas."

"Ow, hey! What was that for?" Roxas pouted. _Terra acts like Axel sometimes, sheesh…_ "Hey! Stop laughing, that wasn't funny!"

The brown-haired man continued to chuckle, shaking his head in amusement. "Well, Roxas, you still wanted to make that D-Link, am I right?"

Roxas blinked before nodding, "Yeah, I'm kind of curious about it now."

"Hey! This is no time for you boys to get lazy! Get in here!" Hook yelled at them.

"... I guess it'll have to wait." Roxas said, rolling his blue eyes. _Ugh… Why is that pirate so _annoying_ at times!? Seriously!_

* * *

As soon as they were inside, Captain Hook crossed his arms while making sure to not get cut from his own hook. "Well done, Terra. You're quite the powerful man- and just who I want for this job!"

Terra nodded firmly. "Thank you- I'll go see if Peter Pan's in the area. C'mon, Roxas." With that, he began to walk away, Roxas trailing after him.

"Capt'n!" Smee suddenly said, catching both Hook's and Roxas's attention, although only for a moment for the pirate. "There was a shooting star that landed near the Indian Island. It had such a strange pattern- do you want to go look for it? It could be treasure!"

This got Hook's attention real quick, "Interesting… Terra! I have a new job for you! I want you to keep this treas- I mean light safe from anyone, _especially_ Peter Pan. I'll be back for it as soon as I check out that star, understood? Guard it with your life!"

"Oh, and what am I, chopped liver?" Roxas grumble, crossing his arms in irritation- he was extremely annoyed the man never addressed him, especially considering how powerful he was. _Seriously, I think he'd at least _try_ to be nice! Is it because I'm a 'kid' to him?_

Terra smirked slightly, ruffling Roxas's hair. "Hey, you can keep watch with me- for now, let's just let the captain do his business." Then he looked up at Captain Hook, straightening. "I understand- when Peter Pan gets here, I'll be waiting." That seemed to satisfy the captain, for he turned and began to walk away.

Now that they were alone, Roxas wanted to try that D-Link once more, and he turned to his friend. "Okay, so while we're waiting, why don't we-" he stopped when he thought he saw something move above them. _What the? What the heck is up there?_

Terra didn't notice at first, and he raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? Why don't we what?" Then he noticed a boy in green tights flying above them, and he frowned, quickly summoning a new Keyblade- one that looked like something from the desert! "Are you Peter Pan!?"

The boy in green floated lower and held out a… dagger. "Why yes I am, are you Hook's newest lackey?"

"You can't have this light, it doesn't belong to you!" Terra claimed with determination, getting into his new battle stance.

Roxas didn't draw his Keyblade, Terra frowned in confusion at this, but the Nobody didn't look like he wanted to fight this boy. _Peter Pan… he looks just the same as before… or is it in the future? …Whatever- it's hard to believe he's 'evil', as the pirate said…_

Peter Pan blinked at that, confused. "Huh? What's with your buddy there?" He gestured to Roxas, still holding his dagger in one hand. "Ain't he gonna fight me too?"

"Roxas, what are you doing?" Terra asked, frowning in confusion.

"..." Roxas turned to the chest before he suddenly kicked it, causing it to fall and open, dumping out gold doubloons and gems. "Huh- they're bright and sparkly, but I don't think this is light, Terra. I_ knew_ Captain Hook was lying."

Terra's eyes widened in shock, seeing the treasure all over the ground. "W-wha!? No way…" _He lied to me!? I-I can't believe it…_ he groaned, resisting the urge to kick himself. _And the worst part is, I _fell_ for it!_

Peter Pan blinked a bit, growing confused. "Eh? You guys didn't know it was filled with treasure?" He chuckled a bit, quickly sheathing his dagger. "What kinda blockhead would fall for the old _codfish's_ tricks?"

"You know, there's a time and place for everything, but now isn't the time." Roxas said to the boy in green, crossing his arms. "Why are you here? You don't look the type to be interested in treasure." Then he saw two smaller boys, one dressed in a fox costume and the other, a much chubbier boy, dressed in a bear's costume.

"Hey Peter! We got the treasure!" the fox costume-wearing boy cheered. "We didn't even have to fight Hook's nasty old pirates to get it, too! Today's _awesome_!"

Peter Pan chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, we usually do it as a game- we steal the treasure, then Hook steals the treasure back, then we steal it back, yadda yadda." Then he grinned. "But this time, we're gonna hide the treasure somewhere else, away from the chest- that'll drive the old codfish _mad_ trying to find it!" Then a thoughtful look appeared on his face. "Say, speaking of Hook… which way did he go?"

Terra frowned a bit. "Well… he said something about a shooting star, but I wasn't really listening." Then he sighed. "And… I owe you an apology. I was picking a fight when I shoul-"

"It's no big deal, but you look pretty strong." Peter said, looking at Terra thoughtfully.

Roxas spoke up, frowning a bit. "Actually Terra, the only reason why I knew it was trick was because I… saw that pirate Hook before." he hesitantly said. _What am I doing? I shouldn't be telling him this! He would've been happy with learning that he was tricked!_

Peter Pan blinked, looking the blond boy in front of him over. "...Really? Guess I don't know _everything_ that old codfish has done… Huh- come to think of it, you look just like Ven…" Then Terra's words sunk in. "Wait… he's going after the shooting star!? Tinker Bell must be in danger!" He quickly turned around, beginning to fly into the air. "Men, guard that treasure with your lives!"

Terra gasped, holding up a hand in vain. "W-wait! What did you mean, he looked like-" It was too late, though- Peter had already gone through one of the eye sockets in the 'skull'.

_Ven? Oh right, Ven landed in this world too when we fell... at least he's alive and doing okay, that's a good sign._ Roxas thought to himself as he remembered _how_ he and Ventus entered this world.

* * *

"Come on, we better get this treasure out of here!" The boy in the fox suit said as he and the boy in the bear suit began picking up the treasure to put back in the box.

Roxas suddenly summoned his Kingdom Key to his hand, glancing around."Terra, Unversed are here!"

"What? I don't see any-" As soon as Terra said that, however, a horde of jellyfish Unversed appeared all over the cave! _Wha? How did Roxas know they were here before we saw them?_

"You kids better take cover! Terra and I will handle these guys!" Roxas said to the two Lost Boys.

The two nodded frantically, dashing out of the huge rock as quickly as possible. Terra frowned a bit, still confused, but he decided to ignore it as he held up his new Keyblade defensively. "Roxas, which side do you want to take- the left or the right?"

"Heh… I'll take the left." Roxas said, chuckling a bit, remembering Axel would usually say the same if they ever fought a horde of Heartless. _Terra really does seem a lot like Axel, come to think of it._

Terra nodded, and with that, the two charged in, slashing and hacking away at each of the shockingly weak Unversed. Terra grunted in pain once or twice, but most of the time he would just smack it away, dispersing a decent chunk of the jellyfish monsters. _Ugh… these things may be easy to take down, but there's a _lot_ of them!_

"WIND!" Roxas created a tornado around him to dispatch the Unversed around him. Then the Nobody jumped and did a somersault in the air to cut through the enemies in the air, there were a lot of them. Roxas decided to try and pierce through them as it usually helps with the horde of Heartless before… The Nobody got his Keyblade to glow a bit, it's not his Limit attack but it does help make his Keyblade stronger, and he dived at each of the Unversed, almost like using Sonic Blade. "Well, I may not have Command Style, but I can compromise!"

Terra glanced at the boy as they got back to back, meeting in the middle of the huge horde. He chuckled a bit, shrugging. "I suppose not- wanna switch now?" Roxas nodded in confirmation, and they seamlessly switched from fighting on one side of the swarm of Unversed to the other. _Heh… Roxas may not have known about Shotlocks and Command Styles, but he certainly makes up for it with abilities I don't know about myself! Not bad._

The Keyblade Wielder of the future then jumped on the Keyblade Wielder of the past's shoulders, both of them jumped and Terra summoned a huge boulder and Roxas jumped on top of it while Terra hit the rock with his Keyblade and caused it to fall towards the Unversed. As soon as it hit the hode, Roxas jumped off it and began shooting out fireballs rapidly, taking out half the horde in one go! "Yeah!" Roxas landed and dashed back to the taller man, both of them exchanging a quick high five before getting back to work.

Terra began using a few spells to get rid of the Unversed around him, feeling the many small wounds from the creatures. He smirked a bit, though, grabbing his Wayfinder. "Heh- guess I'd better show you what D-Links can do!"

"A Wayfinder?" Roxas questioned, not sure how such a small object could really use a D-Link, but then again a Wayfinder keychain turned _his_ Keyblade into Oathkeeper so maybe it has more powers than people give it credit for.

Terra chuckled a bit, gripping it a bit tighter before he held it up into the air. "Aqua!" he cried out, and Roxas raised an eyebrow as his friend glowed blue for a brief moment. "Heh… perfect." He smirked, before suddenly beginning to cast magic almost as powerful as the blue-haired Keyblade Master! "Fira! Thundara! Blizzara!"

"Wow…" Roxas watched in awe as Terra began spamming these spells without looking tired or dazed. _He's fighting almost like Aqua… I wonder if D-Links allows you to use that person's special trait of power or ability? … If that's the case, what would _my_ D-Link be like?_

Then the boy sensed an incoming Unversed that hit him from behind, Roxas hissed as he turned and slashed at it, destroying it. _Gotta pay attention, this isn't the time to be in awe._

* * *

After the two took down the last of the jellyfish Unversed, they were back-to-back, looking around for any more Unversed in the area… but it looks like they got them all. The two Lost Boys were already coming out of their hiding spot. "Gee, you sure cut those monsters down to size!" the bear-costumed boy said happily.

Terra gave a soft grin, but it was quickly wiped off his face as he heard something in the distance. "Shh!" _It sounds like footsteps… Peter Pan doesn't really walk as far as I've seen, so who else could it be?_

Roxas sensed the familiar darkness of greed, and he frowned. "Terra, I think Captain Hook's coming back. Where's the chest? We'd better make it look like we've been guarding it."

Terra nodded, glancing back at the two surprised boys. "Go hide." The Lost Boys blinked, but they nodded, quickly placing the chest back right-side-up before rushing behind a nearby rock to hide.

No sooner than they had hidden did the pirate of the hour come around the corner, smirking happily. "Ahoy! How fare ye, lads?"

"As you can see, the treasure is safe. So, any luck with that star?" Roxas asked him.

"I didn't ask the brat to speak." Hook snapped, glaring angrily.

Roxas glared in annoyance right back, narrowing his eyes dangerously. "Just because I'm younger doesn't mean I _can't_ hurt you!"

Terra frowned, interrupting Roxas and Hook before the two could continue their argument. "Hey… what's that?" He pointed to a lantern the captain was holding in his actual hand, with a tiny pixie trapped inside it!

Hook smirked at the reminder, holding up the lantern and shaking it slightly. "Tinker Bell- one of Peter Pan's _dearest_ friends." The pixie seemed to be shouting something, but all the two heard was the tinkling of a bell.

Roxas recognized Tinker Bell right away, she was the very same fairy who helped him and Axel fly in this world, and who helped him find the Heartless and Captain Hook- to him, Tinker Bell was also a friend. "And… what are you going to do with her?" he asked, frowning a bit more.

Hook handed the lantern to Terra as he turned to Roxas, giving an evil smirk. "Oh, nothing yet- but so long as I have his precious pixie, Peter Pan's demise is all but assured!" He began to cackle evilly, before noticing Roxas seemed to be staring at something next to him. "...What is it now?"

"... Let's just say you shouldn't make a woman angry." Roxas said with a smirk, crossing his arms.

"What?" Hook turned and saw Tinker Bell was free and floating right beside him. "W-wha!?" His eyes widened in shock, right before she kicked him right in the face! "OW!" He grunted in pain, turning to see the lantern was on the ground, unlocked. "What's the _meaning_ of this!?"

Terra glared as he said, clenching his fist angrily, "I don't appreciate being lied to, especially to one who doesn't respect my friends."

Roxas crossed his arms, smirking. "Looks like you just screwed up, 'Captain'."

The man wearing red swelled with anger, shouting furiously, "That's _mutiny_! And you'll walk the plank for it!" He growled furiously… right before he gasped, hearing a certain 'Tick, Tock. Tick, Tock. Tick, Tock.' "T-that sound… not again…!"

Roxas then noticed the two Lost Boys were running like they were being chased, he was about to ask what was wrong until he sensed the Unversed nearby. He saw the Unversed carrying the treasure chest… for reasons he didn't know, and they just threw it into the water! "Wah?" _Why would they do that? Did Vanitas order them to do that?_

"The treasure!" the boy in the bear suit cried as he jumped after the chest!

"No, stop!" Roxas ran and dived into the water after him, eyes widening in fear when he saw the crocodile eyeing the fat child like an all-you-can-eat buffet. _Oh crud…_

Terra's eyes widened as well, and he quickly dived into the water as Captain Hook ran off, screaming the whole way. _No! I won't let that crocodile eat those two… I'll do _anything_ I can to stop it! _He swum towards the bear suit-wearing boy first, knowing Roxas could at least fight the crocodile off.

* * *

While Terra was going after the boy in the bear suit, Roxas was using Oblivion to try and keep the crocodile from eating him. He looked up and saw a boat quickly being paddled away. _Guess Hook's fleeing… good, at least we don't have to deal with him right now._ Since it was hard to fight underwater, Roxas was having a hard time fighting with the hungry crocodile.

The crocodile kept snapping at him with its jaws, and it was fast underwater, giving Roxas the disadvantage, not to mention he had to keep coming up to the surface for air. He quickly cast Blizzaga at the crocodile, hoping to freeze it like Terra did, but the swimming reptile managed to evade it underwater. Roxas glared, he had to get in close if he wanted to encase it in ice.

The hungry crocodile was swimming back at the Nobody and managed to nip his leg, holding on tight. Roxas was being dragged underwater, he had to keep himself from releasing an unwilling gasp or he'd get a lungful of water! The Nobody banged Oblivion on the croc's head, trying to get it to let go of his leg. Because of the pain and his struggle not to breathe underwater, Roxas couldn't focus on using any magic.

Finally, with the last bit of his strength, the young boy slammed his Keyblade on the crocodile's nose, and to his shock, it let go, clutching at it in pain! _Okay- apparently it's nose is it's weakness like a shark, got it… _he quickly swam back up to the surface, taking a huge gulp of air.

After getting his breath back, Roxas dived back down at the crocodile. The angry reptile swam at him, snapping his jaws. Roxas threw Oblivion at it, using Strike Raid. Because of the water physics, Oblivion didn't go as fast as it would've on land, but it managed to hit the crocodile a few times. The croc still stubbornly swam at Roxas and tried to bite at the boy's face, so Roxas quickly grabbed its open jaws, trying to keep it from snapping down on him. The Nobody then kicked the upper roof of its mouth, causing it to back away a bit before he called on Oblivion again and smack it.

The crocodile hissed before it slammed its tail at Roxas, causing him to lose his breath and his Keyblade. Roxas had to hurry back to the surface to breathe, but the crocodile didn't want him to escape, and it bit his leg again, trying to drag him back down. Roxas let out a muffled yelp as bubbles flew out of his mouth. He glared back at the crocodile, trying to concentrate despite the pain and his burning lungs, and he managed to fire out a small Blizzard attack to get it to let go and he barely managed to break the surface and took a gasp of air.

Terra frowned worriedly, about to go back into the water. "Roxas!" he called out. "Are you okay!?" _I gotta help him… maybe if I use Blizzaraga while the crocodile's distracted… but I might hit Roxas too! If I freeze him while he's in the water he could _drown_!_

Roxas shook his head, taking a few gasps of air. _I can't waste air… but I don't want him going in after me- I only need one person in here, and that's me! I hope I can finish this before Terra gets the idea to come in after me…_

The Nobody dived back down at the crocodile, and he saw it was trying to chomp at him again. Roxas slammed Oblivion into its side, trying to keep its mouth away from him. The tail wasn't helping, it kept trying to swing at his head, but Roxas managed to kick it away. _I'll have one shot at this…_ Roxas buried Oblivion into the reptile's side, preparing another Blizzaraga spell, but the crocodile was fast and strong- it managed to turn its head and bite Roxas's hand, not hard enough to really hurt him, but enough to keep him from using the spell and caused him to flip back in the water.

Roxas glared in annoyance, the crocodile was smart, a lot smarter than most non-talking animals. _This thing's getting to be a real pain._ The crocodile lunged at Roxas once again, it's mouth wide enough open to be able to see down it's throat! Roxas had to grab at its jaws to keep it from slamming down on him, and the boy realized something here… he smirked as he used his foot on the roof of the reptile's big mouth to keep it open and quickly fired a Blizzaraga ice crystal down its throat!

The crocodile froze for a few minutes before backing off, quickly trying to warm itself up. It shivered violently as it glared at Roxas a few minutes before giving one last half hearted attempt to bite on his leg. In response, the boy aimed his Keyblade right at the crocodile's eyes, and it quickly backed away, scowling.

Roxas glared at the crocodile as if daring it to come and attack him again. The crocodile hissed before it turned its head away and swam off somewhere, the crocodile may be hungry but it wasn't stupid, it's not going to go after a meal that can fight back.

* * *

With the crocodile gone, Roxas swam up to the surface, taking in another grateful gulp of air before he began swimming towards shore, relieved to see Terra was still there. "Hey Terra! It's okay, the crocodile swam away."

The brown-haired man quickly lifted his friend out of the water, and Roxas blinked at the tingling sensation sent down his arm. "Roxas, are you alright!?" He frowned, grabbing the Nobody and shaking his shoulders violently. "Don't you _ever_ do something that stupid again- you hear me? You- you could have_ died_ in there!"

Roxas's eyes were circles as he tried to get Terra to stop shaking him. "O-o-okay! E-e-enough Terra!" When the older Keyblade Wielder finally stopped, Roxas had to wait a minute to get rid of the disorientation. "I know what I did was reckless, but if I didn't do anything, that boy could've been eaten- I did what I had to so he'd live."

"..." Terra sighed. _And in the same situation, I may have done the same thing… Ugh… _"I suppose you have a point- but don't be so stupid next time… We all care about you, and you nearly didn't make it out of the water at times."

"Hey, I made it out." Roxas said with a pout. "Don't worry so much, sheesh, I thought that was Aqua's job. The crocodile's gone, I'm still here, so just let it slide." The boy rubbed his head before he remembered that strange feeling he had a minute ago. "Did you feel a tingling feeling when you pulled me out of the water?"

Terra blinked before a small smile began to grow on his face. _Heh… so he finally made his first one, huh…? _He shook his head, still smiling. "Not personally… Roxas, that was a D-Link forming- only you felt it, because you _made_ it."

"What?" Roxas blinked. "_I_ made it? But that's impossible, I didn't even _do_ anything!"

The brown-haired man smirked, crossing his arms. "Is that so? Tell me- do you have an item with a spell on it, or even an item that you got from somebody else as a gift?"

Roxas blinked as he thought about it for a minute before he remembered that green Wayfinder Lea gave him. The boy reached into his pocket and pulled it out, "Well… someone I knew gave this to me a while back." He showed it to Terra, and blinked in confusion when he saw his friend's eyes widen in shock. "...What, what is it?"

Terra didn't register Roxas's words initially, still staring at the Wayfinder in his hand. _That… that's _Ven's_ Wayfinder! How does Roxas have that? _Then what Roxas said registered. "...I-it's nothing much… who did you say gave that to you again, Roxas?"

_Should I tell him who it was? … I don't know if that's a good idea… but I don't think Terra would appreciate it if I lie or try to keep it hidden… _"He's an old friend of mine. His name is Axel." _Because there's a Lea in this time, but not Axel, so I think it's better if I just give him Axel's name._

Terra frowned in confusion, still staring at the Wayfinder in Roxas's hand. _Not Ven? It would make sense, sort of, if he gave Roxas his own… but… _"Well… I won't think about it too much- but ask to see Ven's when you catch up with him next time, okay?" He gave a soft smile to Roxas, crossing his arms. "Now then… while holding that Wayfinder, try to find your D-Link with me- you should be able to sense it."

Roxas looked at the green Wayfinder before he gave a gentle squeeze, as if trying to sense any powers coming from it. It didn't take long until Roxas felt the familiar power of Terra's, strong, firm, but also gentle and caring. "I… I think I felt it." Then he looked at Terra. "So does that mean you also have a D-Link with me?"

Terra smiled, nodding. "Yeah… I've tried it, and now that I know about your dual wielding ability, it makes sense." Roxas blinked at that, frowning in confusion before the older man pokes his forehead playfully. "When I connect with you, my Keyblade grows twice as strong… It's ironic, really- that the person who's one of the youngest Keyblade Wielder I know is also able to give me that kind of strength."

Roxas gave a small smile at him, shrugging. "Heh… maybe I can do the same with Aqua and Ven later…"

"Hey! The treasure's empty now!" The kid in the fox suit whined after he had seen his friend is okay.

The kid in the bear suit frowned, pouting a bit. "What do we tell Peter Pan? He was counting on us…"

Terra glanced over at them before he smiled a bit more, walking over. "Well, did you guys really want the jewels and gold that badly?"

The two shook their head, still looking sad. It was clear that they were only upset because Peter Pan told them to keep it safe and it WAS a part of their game, to a kid losing a game was a big deal. "Well…" Roxas began with a smile. "Why not put the stuff that's really special to you in there? _That_ can be your treasure!"

"Yeah! That sounds like a good idea!" Fox Boy said with a smile.

"We'll take this chest to Peter right away!" Bear Boy agreed happily.

"Roxas…" Terra suddenly spoke up, glancing over at his friend.

"Yeah?" The young Nobody turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

"I knew I could've dived in and tried to save you from that crocodile earlier, but I didn't. It's because… I could trust you. So Roxas…" Terra began to say before pausing. "I… I want you to go with them. Keep those boys safe from any dangerous creatures or Unversed."

"Really? You don't mind leaving me on my own?" Roxas asked, remembering he had to convince Terra to leave him before he left the spaceship in the previous 'world'.

Terra gave a small smirk, nodding. "I don't mind as much. I'll still worry, but that's what friends do- I know you can take care of yourself, and since you can travel to other worlds on your own, you… you don't really _need_ our Keyblade Gliders to travel around anymore." Then his smirk grew as he ruffled Roxas's hair. "But don't expect that means you're a Keyblade Master, kiddo- you still have a long way to go 'til then!"

Roxas nearly tipped over when Terra ruffled his hair, but he gave a smirk, crossing his arms. "Of course, I know that." _Considering I shouldn't even be able to wield a Keyblade in the first place… I know I'm Sora's Nobody, but… maybe I'm thinking too much into it._ "But I guess you want to make sure nothing happens to those two boys while you continue your own journey?"

Terra nodded, pulling out his own Wayfinder. "Yeah… I… I think I'm almost done- but…" he sighed, putting it back in his pocket. "But I still have to do one or two more things before everything's finished." _Including finding Vanitas… he's still at large, after all… and I _won't_ let him hurt anyone else- not if I get any chance to stop him! _"Maybe after this is all over, you can come back to the Land of Departure… maybe Master Eraqus would be a better teacher for you- er, that is, if you want. I mean you do have your own Master after all, I'm sure he's worried for you."

Roxas gave a slight frown at that, hesitating. "... It'd be nice to have a Master like Eraqus…" he gave a small smile again, thinking about it before looking up at his friend. "Well… I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens first. Good luck out there, Terra."

The tall Keyblade Master nodded, placing a hand on Roxas's shoulder. "You too, Roxas- stay safe…" he then turned, summoning his Keyblade back to his hand and opening another portal to the Lanes Between.

Roxas waved as Terra disappeared through it, then he turned to the two Lost Boys as they were carrying the chest. "Hey, wait up!" He quickly ran after them, placing the Wayfinder back in his pocket.

* * *

**DarkFoxKit: There, now we've introduced how D-Links work in this story, though I'm surprised nobody's brought this up yet, and that crocodile boss Roxas had to fight. Pretty interesting if I do say so myself- also, like in Deep Space, we'll be having all three stories here with Roxas again.**

**Key2DestNE: Well, we couldn't just ignore their stories this time, now could we? *smiles* Now then, onto the reviews! We couldn't help but notice that some of you are pairing Roxas with either Xion or Aqua… and to that I say, good- if you guys are pairing them, it means we have good representations of each of them!**

**DarkFoxKit: Well we're not pairing Roxas with Aqua- she's older than he is, by a lot, plus we stated already that she sees him and Ventus as her little brothers, not lovers. Anyways, CatLoverx33, you said 'please tell me that wasn't Tinker Bell'. I'm not sure what you meant since she was not in the story yet at the time, but I assume you meant when Roxas was getting bonked on the head? That wasn't Tinker Bell, I thought we made it clear it was Captain Hook doing that.**

**Key2DestNE: Maybe not, since she asked… But yeah, that was Hook. Anyways, onto the next review- Antex, it WAS a bit of a short chapter, but I think it still turned out nicely! And yes, we made them so similar when they both lost something dear to them, because, well, they ARE similar- poor misunderstood people/aliens who want to try and get past what they were 'made' for.**

**DarkFoxKit: FlightfootKeyseeker... Well, Terra wasn't looking and Hook is a very fast and slick man, try fighting him in Kingdom Hearts or Chain of Memories- seriously, that guy is FAST. He ran on top of the water while running from the crocodile for crying out loud! And Happyperson, yes, Xion will be in the fanfic, it's just that she won't be revealed for a while.**

**Key2DestNE: KP Fangirl, we were never planning to change the focus away from Roxas too much- this is HIS story after all, and this is about how HE fits into the KH BBS story. And yes, Vanitas has been very quiet lately~ As for who the mysterious figure is… we never said that it was a boy or girl, now did we? *winks mysteriously* I'll leave that to your imagination~!**

**DarkFoxKit: And Guest, sorry, I don't have your actual penname, but I'm glad you see our KH story so authentic we could write a style fitting for it! Although Key here says he's working on a solo story, I'm not sure when he'll be releasing it, so just be patient with him, he's got a lot going on. I know _I_ had to be patient with him… Fantasysword2375, yes, in the cutscene, Gantu did break Stitch's Wayfinder, hence why he was so angry in the game.**

**Key2DestNE: But it does make the two of them much more connected, as they both have lost something they love! And yeah, the story was already finished before Fox posted the first chapter… I'm just… I had extreme writer's block, and we didn't want to have that slow down the uploads… so we just had Fox do that update until it was gone… *smiles sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck***

**DarkFoxKit: He was too burned out to even do the AN with me, so I had to do it myself, but we already revised it so we're all good. And that's an interesting theory you got there- I won't say if you got it right or wrong, just keep reading until you get there. Oh and just so we're clear with the readers, we're _not_ going to shift focus to Lea, okay? Some of you stated that we'll go into more depth with Lea now that he's revealed himself, but sorry, we're not, it's still with Roxas. If some of you want to do a 'chronicle story' with Lea during Roxas's Story, you can do that if you wish.**

**Key2DestNE: … *eyes light up* Ohohooooo, I just got an ideeaaaa~! *begins to sneak off, giving a wide grin* I'll talk to you later, Fox- I've got a story to write!**

**DarkFoxKit: Uh? *blink* Wa- *Key already took off* … Well… uh… okay then. I guess we'll be going now. I'm DarkFoxKit, that's my co-writer Key2DestNE and we look forward to hearing from you!**

* * *

**(edited) DarkFoxKit: Ahem, well looks like I'll be alone for this part, see, we do our ANs on Sunday, the day before I update this story, however, today I just saw another review and figured it'd be rude not to answer it here. Key is busy right now and won't be back until late so I'll take the responsibility to answer this reviewer. AHEM! MogTookMyMunny, I thank you for your review, I can relate to how you feel about not wanting to leave reviews in fear of sounding like an idiot to the author or authors in this case, but don't worry about that, I treasure all my reviewers, including you! So now on to the theories. You know, I really like your theories, they could make a great story on their own, like that side story with Lea I talked about earlier. And you're right, Lea didn't know this Roxas was from KHII's timeline, he was hoping it was a later Roxas (I'm assuming Roxas will be back during KHIII or later) since this one was more... 'delicate' I guess you could say.**

**DarkFoxKit: As I have stated before in some previous chapters, Young Xehanort's time travel is just _one_ way, it's not the _only_ way, so Roxas could still go back without having to discard his body, if he did he wouldn't be Roxas right now, he'd probably be Ventus. Still, that's a very interesting theory you came up with, and pretty close to the truth, but that's all I'll say to avoid spoilers. I'm guessing you're saying the mysterious voice is one person but Roxas think it's more than one? Xion and Namine... well Key said before that we didn't mention Namine at all, although she was in the prologue. Xion, as you know, is slowly but surely starting to be remembered. Heh... I think you're going to like what's going to happen in the future of this story.**

**DarkFoxKit: Again, I thank you for the time you took to review, I apologize this was such a long AN, I had to add in this one to answer the last minute review. I'm grateful to all my readers, especially for the ones who took their time to review, coming up with interesting theories and all. Anyways, I'm DarkFoxKit and I look forward to hearing from you again!**


	16. Chapter 15: Ties of Friendship

**DarkFoxKit: Hello readers! We are so glad you've been keeping up with this story so far! And we're happy to say tha- …. I'll be right back! *walks off stage and hears a lot of crashing noises before DarkFoxKit came back out with a 3DS.* GET OUT HERE NOW!**

**Key2DestNE: *offstage* HEY! I WAS JUST BEATING BRAWLY, YOU JERK! *he rushed onstage, grabbing the 3DS and snatching it back***

**DarkFoxKit: You can keep playing your Omega Ruby once the AN is finished! Remember? This is where things get pretty emotional and confusing for poor Roxas- not that it hasn't been confusing before, but this time it'll make him question his own… personality.**

**Key2DestNE: ….. *his eyes lit up in understanding* Oooooh… We're on THAT chapter already? Wow- guess I was really too focused on my video games to notice… *grins* Ohoho, you guys are gonna love this! My favorite bit was when Roxa-**

**DarkFoxKit: Hey! *covers his mouth quickly* Don't spoil it now! We'll let you readers go on ahead and start the chapter now, hope you enjoy it! … *nudges Key* … hey… disclaimer.**

**Key2DestNE: Mmph! Mmm mmm! *pointedly looks at her, before turning away***

**DarkFoxKit: We don't own anything but the concept, now read. *flicks Key upside the head before going offscreen, ignoring his yelp of pain***

* * *

**Chapter 15: Ties of Friendship**

"Hey, wait up!" Roxas called out to the two boys who were carrying the chest to the dingy. "Are you sure it's safe to get on that small boat? I don't think I can fit in there."

The boy wearing the bear suit shrugged. "Uh… you can swim, right? Why not swim right across?"

"... Are you kidding me? Do you know how _long_ of a swim that would be?" Roxas deadpanned. "Do you _want _me to drown? Unless I can fly, there's no way I'm going out there without a boat!"

Then Roxas blinked, seeing a familiar pixie friend flying right in his face. "Huh?" He went cross-eyed a bit, trying to focus on her as she spoke right in his face, seeming to smirk confidently. "...Don't tell me _you_ can make me fly!" Although he knew she could, he had to keep up the act.

Tinker Bell made what sounded like a laughing sound, then she flew around him as all the glowing pixie dust began falling on the boy. Roxas looked at his hands, seeing they were glowing from the dust before they disappeared and he gave a smile. "Well alright, here I go." He jumped suddenly and his body began to levitate with ease. _It's been so long since I last flew, yet I can still fly, that's awesome!_

Tinker Bell looked on in surprise, almost as if not believing how this boy so easily just came to terms that he could fly just like that. Any other outsider would've been questioning or hesitating at best, while others don't even _try_ to fly. A small smile began to spread across her features and she flew up to him, tingling confidently as she pointed towards a lagoon on their side of the island. It almost sounded like she was challenging him to a race!

"Whoa there Tinker Bell, I can't just leave these boys, what if they get attacked?" Roxas pointed at the two Lost Boys who were already rowing the boat on the ocean.

Tinker Bell kept pointing at the lagoon, and she crossed her arms with a small huff. Roxas rolled his eyes, giving an amused grin. "Oh come on now, don't be like that." He looked at the two boys before looking around… then he noticed a pirate ship that was floating near the lagoon. "... Captain Hook? Ugh… Right, he sailed away when that crocodile attacked…" _I wonder what he's doing over there? … I guess I should go check it out in case Peter Pan is over there and in trouble._

"Hey boys, I'm going to go ahead, okay? Make sure the coast is clear and all!" Roxas called out to the two animal wearing boys on the dingy.

The fox suit-wearing boy nodded, giving a playful salute. "Aye aye, captain!" he called up. "We'll bring the chest when we're across- you go on with Tinker Bell!"

"Okay Tinker Bell, lead the way!" Roxas said to the pixie as she flew off ahead of him and the flying Nobody quickly followed.

* * *

Along the way, Roxas couldn't help but feel a bit more relaxed as he flew across the ocean waters, it almost reminded him of that shell that someone gave to him that he could hear the ocean in. _Who gave me that shell? I doubt Axel would've gone shell hunting just for me… Maybe it was Demyx? …No, he's too lazy to go shell hunting, _period_. …I'll figure it out later…_ He looked down at his reflection, thinking about Ven and why they look so much alike. _There has to be _some_ reason that Ventus look like me… or… maybe _I'm_ the one who looks like him?_

He continued to fly across, barely paying attention to his surroundings as his thoughts kept drifting around. _And… why would Axel- or Lea, rather- give me a Wayfinder? Was it to let me form D-Links? But how would he know that it'd do that? I doubt he can cast spells that don't relate to fire…Wait… he _did_ say something about someone telling him to give it to me… Who told him? So many unanswered questions… I wonder if Xi- … someone else thought the same thing about themselves…_

Roxas couldn't help but get a very fuzzy memory of a girl… a girl with blue eyes… and black hair, but the memory kept getting static whenever he tried to bring it up. Who's that girl? Does he know her? _Ugh… ow… that hurts my head…_

He glanced up, seeing Tinker Bell looking at him a bit worriedly, and he gave a faint smile. "H-hey, I'm fine… Just thinking a bit is all- guess I got a headache…" _…Maybe that girl… is the one who gave me the shell? Why else would I remember her? …And… why can't I remember her name?_

Roxas shook his head, trying to figure something else out. _Aqua… Terra… Both of them sometimes look at me as if I remind them of someone else… like Ven… I'm supposed to be Sora's Nobody… yet I don't look like Sora, I look like Ventus. Did… something happen to Ven that causes him to get some sort of connection with Sora and it affected me? … I guess I'll just have to find out for myself._

Tinker Bell began making a lot of noises, stating they have reached the lagoon. Roxas blinked, coming out of his thoughts. "Hmm? Oh, we're here." He landed on the sand, looking around. "Where are the pirates?"

Tinker Bell frowned thoughtfully before she shrugged, pointing at the ship. Roxas blinked, looking over and seeing it fire out a cannonball. He tracked the giant metal ball to where it would land… right behind two very familiar faces. Well they seemed familiar, but Roxas couldn't be sure, he just knew one of them was Peter Pan due to the green he was wearing, because he had to act fast! "Incoming!"

The two yelped in surprise, jumping forward to evade the cannonball aimed right at them. Tinker Bell seemed to shout in delight, flying through the smoke to join her friend. Roxas smiled a bit, seeing how excited she was to meet up with Peter.

"Oh Tink! I'm glad to see you're okay! I heard Hook got you and-" Peter began to say until Tinker Bell kept speaking to him. "What? The guy with the funny looking sword helped you?"

"You mean Terra?" Roxas spoke up as he joined them.

"ROXAS!" Ven, the other boy who was with Peter, shouted suddenly, causing Roxas to jump back. "What happened to you? I just remember falling in the Realms of Between and I couldn't find you! I was worried sick!"

"Oh come on, being worried about me should be Aqua's job! First Terra, now you, is she rubbing off on all three of you?" Roxas grumbled.

Ven frowned, crossing his arms. "Hey, we're worried about you because we're friends! And I-" BOOM! He frowned, feeling the ground shake due to the cannonball. "We gotta stop that cannonball before we catch up… Peter, do you wanna go after the cannon while I get Hook?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" Peter smiled. "Tinker Bell, why don't you go ahead and give him some pixie dust?" Tinker Bell nodded as she flew around Ven, giving him pixie dust like she did with Roxas. "Bet ya feel lighter now, huh?" Then Peter got a good look at both boys. "... Are you two twins?" Before either of them could speak up, Peter said, shaking his head, "Nevermind, we can discuss that later. Good luck!" And with that, Peter went off flying to the ship.

"Do you even know where Captain Hook is?" Roxas asked Ven, frowning in confusion. "I mean, wouldn't he be on his ship if anywhere else?"

Ventus shook his head, though, smirking. "Nope- he said to meet him in Mermaid Lagoon, and according to Peter Pan, that's up ahead." He pointed to a nearby outcrop of rocks. "Right behind those rocks, in fact, so he's expecting us to be caught by the cannon fire!"

"Well… that's fast…" Roxas said to himself before he looked at his friend. "Well how do you want to attack him? Run up to him or _fly_ up to him?" This earned him a strange look from Ven. "... What?"

Ven frowned in confusion, crossing his arms. "What're you talking about? We can't fly!" He shrugged. "The pixie dust is cool, but I don't think it allows us to completely _fly_…"

Roxas looked at him, confused himself. "... We _can_ fly. Watch!" Roxas suddenly jumped off the rocks, surprising Ven.

"Roxas!?" Ven shouted, worried the Nobody just jumped into the water, but suddenly, said boy was flying above him.

"What?" Roxas chuckled, floating above his look alike. "I told you we could fly- _you're _the one that didn't believe me!"

Ven's jaw dropped, seeing Roxas effortlessly fly around him. "W-wha!?" He twitched a bit, staring in disbelief. "I… I thought we could _glide_, not fly- you're telling me if I jumped off this rock, I could…?"

"Well you do have to have some happy thoughts and believe you can fly in order for it to work." Roxas explained. "Why don't you try it now? What are your happiest memories?"

Ven frowned in thought, looking up at the sky. "...Well…" _I guess it's back when things were simpler… before the Mark of Mastery exam… _He gave a faint smile, remembering Roxas falling on top of him when they first met._ Heh… At the time, I thought I was still dreaming… _Then he noticed Roxas was grinning as widely as possible. "...What?"

"Look down, you're already floating." Roxas pointed beneath him. _I wonder what he was thinking about?_ The Nobody's curiosity was quickly forgotten about as he laughed at Ven's reaction to learning he was flying- wobbling around and waving his hands in the air as if he was balancing on a beam.

"W-whoa!" Ventus yelped, still trying to gain his balance in the air. "Why are you acting like it's so simple, Roxas!?" He groaned, upside-down by now. "I can't get any kind of balance!"

"Hmm… I guess you'll have to get used to it first." Roxas said, flying around his wobbling look-alike. "Believe it or not, I actually have flown before."

"You what?" Ven stared at him.

"Well yeah, remember that I could glide before? That's because I learned how to fly already." Roxas explained to him. "Alright, just keep yourself steady and upright." BOOM! Another cannon ball. "... It might be better if we just hold off on the lessons until after we defeat Captain Hook."

Ven nodded, still a bit shocked about Roxas's new information. "Y-yeah, let's go after Hook for now…" He slowly shook his head, still shocked about being able to fly as they rushed into Mermaid Lagoon.

* * *

When they both got inside, Roxas stopped Ven from going any further as they both noticed Captain Hook waiting impatiently with his back turned to them. After a full minute of no cannon fire, he held a hand to his ear. "...Eh?" When he still didn't hear anything, he began to act as if he was upset, putting a hand to his forehead. "Alas! And so passeth a worthy opponent… To think that his would be such an _inglorious_ end!" He sagged down before beginning to cackle, showing his true colors once more. "At _last_! That scurvy brat will never trouble me _again_!"

"Okay Ven, we'll try a sneak attack and-" Before Roxas could finish his sentence, Ven ran up to the pirate.

"Think again!" Ven shouted, announcing his presence to the captain. Said pirate turned around, gasping in shock.

"What!? Ven! We had a good opportunity to sneak up on him!" Roxas hissed in annoyance, still trying to keep himself hidden.

Captain Hook, thankfully, didn't notice Roxas, as he was completely focused on Ventus in his disbelief. "Swoggle me eyes! ...Wait- don't tell me!" He quickly turned and pulled out a telescope, focusing in on his ship. After a moment, he growled furiously, tossing his tool to the ground. "BLAST THAT PETER PAN!"

Ven hesitated, seeing how furious the man was made him feel a little surprised. He took a step back, and that brought Hook's attention back to the boy. He growled furiously, before jumping onto a nearby flat rock and pulling out his sword.

"Ven! Why-" Roxas didn't have time to finish as Ven jumped onto the rock. "Ugh…" He groaned, running after Ven.

Hook glared at the boy, "So, you-" TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK. "That… that sound… NO! THAT VILE MONSTER IS BACK AGAIN!" Indeed, that same crocodile was just leisurely floating around the rock that Hook and Ven were standing on, licking it's lips hungrily. "N-no… No, stay away from me!" He flailed back, bumping into Ven and quickly turned around.

The boy glared, shoving Hook off of him. "I don't _think_ so!" he cried out, aiming his Keyblade right at the pirate. Roxas frowned, still a little angry as to what Ven had done by blowing their cover.

_I guess I'll just have to work with it. While Ven is keeping him busy, I can probably try and catch the captain off guard and push him into the water where the crocodile's waiting… I just need to wait for my chance._ Roxas thought to himself, watching Captain Hook's reaction.

Hook gulped, glancing nervously back at the water, but he quickly regained his composure, entering a fencing stance. "I'll run you throug-" Ven smirked, seeing his opponent was charging him, and he quickly began to fire off some balls of energy, all of which knocked the pirate further and further back! "Agh! Oof! Why you little…!"

Then Ven suddenly created some light on the ground, like some kind of… mine field. Roxas blinked at that, having never seen Ven use this before. When Captain Hook accidentally stepped on one, it exploded right at his face! "GAH!" and he almost fell in the water, but he regained his composure. "What in the-!?"

"Mine Field- you like it, you old codfish?" Ven smirked, spinning his Keyblade cockily.

Roxas noticed this was his chance as he quickly jumped out from his hiding spot and used his Keyblade to knock Hook right into the water! "WAAAH!" Hook fell in the water… and the crocodile bit his butt, causing him to jump ten feet in the air back on the rock, screaming his lungs out. "SMEEEEEEEE!"

Of course, the battle wasn't over yet, but Ven frowned at this, turning to Roxas as the boy landed on the rock smoothly. "Why'd you do that?"

"What? It was a good opportunity." Roxas said as if it was fact. "He was right by the water, and the crocodile's mainly after him, not us!" _Though frankly, I still wouldn't want to take my chances…_

Ven frowned even more, but he quickly turned back to Captain Hook as the pirate pulled out a bunch of boxes. _I'll talk to him later about that- but I can't believe he'd use something like that against the pirate!_

Captain Hook smirked, tossing the boxes towards the two boys. "Present for you!" Ven and Roxas both blinked in confusion before the boxes all exploded! "You like that, ya mangy brats!? … Wait… there are _two_ of you!?"

Roxas got back up and shot out a Firaga, hitting the seat of the man's pants. "FIRE!"

"EH! HOT! HOT! HOT!" Captain Hook shouted in pain as he tried to put out the flames on his clothes.

"Yes, there's apparently two of us." Roxas grumbled, still not liking the fact people kept saying that.

"Taste my blade!" Hook suddenly shot across the rock trying to hit them. Roxas and Ven tried to dodge but they got hit a few times, and his thin sword surprisingly hit hard!

Roxas grunted in pain, feeling a small cut on his cheek throb in a bit of dull pain. He frowned, rubbing it absently. _Looks like for being an old man, he's still powerful… I'm gonna have to keep that in mind. _He began tossing his Keyblade out, using Strike Raid efficiently as he kept hitting Hook.

Ven, surprisingly, waited until Hook had recovered until he charged the man once more, doing a quick combo before he suddenly gained six long blades made of energy behind him! "Command Style: Wing Blade!"

Roxas jumped back, startled by that. "Whoa! Where did_ those_ come from!?" He gasped in shock, he had thought that Ven would only know one Command Style, but apparently he's wrong. _I've GOT to learn my own Command Style! Those things look powerful- why does nobody use them in _my_ time!?_

Ven seemed to be contentrating for a moment before he smirked, beginning to slash wildly at Captain Hook with two of the six blades in his hands. "Haaa! Hyah!" He literally looked like a whirlwind of destruction, as he continued to land powerful blow after powerful blow on the captain, even sometimes sending out all six blades to attack him!

Roxas was surprised Hook was still standing after all that, but apparently the pirate is pretty dang sturdy, even if his clothing was now full of holes and tears. As soon as Ven stopped attacking, Roxas took this chance to run over to Hook and slam down his Keyblade on the man. "THUNDER!" He summoned lightning to zap him before he pushed him into the water again, where the crocodile was oh so happily waiting.

Ven frowned as the crocodile dragged the poor man under, chomping on him a few times. "Roxas, what're you doing!? Stop trying to feed him to the crocodile- are you _trying_ to kill him!?"

"I'm _trying_ to get him to leave." Roxas said right back as he watched Hook jumping away from the crocodile, crying out again. "Look, he's almost finished."

Hook panted and whimpered, but he growled as he threw three more explosive boxes at them, catching the twins off guard as they went off! "WHOA!"

"Ya scurvy brats!" Hook slammed at them with his sword, zipping around as he took a stab at Ven, who blocked it. "It looks like you don't have the guts to do what your twin does, boy." Hook smirked at him, beginning to push the Keyblade wielder further back.

Roxas scowled, rushing at Hook's back and slamming his Keyblade into the pirate's legs, forcing him to fall to the ground in pain. "Maybe he doesn't use every advantage, but don't forget I'm here, you big codfish!"

"_Codfish_!?" Hook growled, painfully getting to his feet. "Why you little… I'll make you walk the plank for tha-" Roxas smacked the man's face with his Keyblade, sending the man flying back into the water! "MMPH GLUB GLUB GLUB!"

Hook screamed out as he began running, literally running on top of the water, as the crocodile went after him. "Leave me alone! Smee! SMEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

With Hook gone, Roxas could breathe easy again as he turned to Ven, frowning in concern. "Hey, are you okay? He didn't stab you anywhere did he?"

Ven sighed, shaking his head. "Nah- he hit hard, but I'll be alright. More importantly…" He frowned, crossing his arms. "Why'd you keep smacking him into the water? Sure, he's a bad guy, but you still were being unnecessarily cruel!"

"What? Why are you saying that's unnecessarily cruel? He was out to _kill_ us, Ven! I was only returning the favor." Roxas said, frowning at that argument, before an unwanted thought began creeping up his mind…. _"Dishonorable… they may not accept how you fight"._

Ven frowned, crossing his arms in irritation. "Yeah, but… but it still isn't right! As Keyblade Wielders, we're not supposed to kill everybody we meet- that's disrupting the world order! We're supposed to travel the worlds, meeting new people and discovering new things about ourselves, not killing those who might be filled with darkness in that world!"

"Relax, I wasn't going to kill him, just give him a scare to get him to leave. It worked, didn't it?" Roxas spoke up, hoping Ven would see his reason.

The blond haired boy sighed, shaking his head. "Yeah, it did… but if he wasn't so terrified of the crocodile, it might have eaten him, Roxas! Just because it worked didn't mean it was the right thing to do- just like attacking him from behind wasn't the right thing to do."

Roxas gave him a frown, finding what he was saying to be ridiculous. "The right thing to do- Ven, it's a battle of _life_ and _death_! There's not much room for morals when you're fighting for your _life_! And besides, why did you blow our cover earlier back there? We could've ambushed him and ended the battle a lot quicker!"

Ventus shook his head in disbelief again, finding it hard to stomach what his look alike was saying to him. "Roxas… if we ambushed him, that wouldn't give the man any time to react!" The Nobody in front of him flinched as if smacked by that. "We have more responsibilities than most- killing somebody important to that world's order could mean the entire world just falls apart! And, frankly, we never know who that could be- even_ evil_ Keyblade Wielders don't aim to kill those living in that world!"

_Why is he acting like I just committed murder? The only things I've ever killed were Heartless… But he's acting like I've done a lot worse!_ "I never killed anyone in any world, and I wasn't _going_ to kill him. If the crocodile was going to eat him, I would've stopped it with a Blizzard spell. Look, maybe what I did may have seemed a bit too much, but it's how _I_ was trained to fight."

Ven's eyes widened in shock at that, and he resisted the urge to let his jaw hang loose. _He… was _trained_ to take advantage of an opponent like that? Even when it could possibly kill them? I… what kind of a Master _does_ that!? _"R-Roxas, I…" He sighed. "That's… it's just not honorable- you don't kick somebody when he's down, and you don't try to kill somebody when they don't stand a chance against you!" _It's almost like he was trained to be more of an_ assassin_ than a Keyblade Master…_

"I _told_ you, I didn't kill anyone! And what would you do if your enemy is about to kill you?" Roxas asked him. "You have no other way out but to 'fight dirty' as you say. To me, a battle is a battle, doesn't matter how you fight it, just as long as you survive." _"Heh, I like the way you fight kid, unlike those other Keyblade Wielders… they're way too 'honorable' to fight like you."_

"..." Ven looked at his look alike as if he was seeing the Nobody in a new light. "...Even… even if it was somebody who you cared about?" Roxas paused at that, confused. "...I-I see…" He sighed, before turning and beginning to walk away. _I… I can't believe it- he's become like a _brother_ to me… and yet… He fights like he _wants_ to kill them? What if he… had to fight _me_? Or if he had to fight Terra, or Aqua…? … Does he… did the darkness consume him?_

Roxas didn't like the look Ven gave, it was like someone just betrayed him and kicked his puppy. It hurt the Nobody, a creature or being that supposedly doesn't have a heart, and it made him feel worse about himself than he expected. _Maybe what Braig said to me before was true… I'm not fit to wield the Keyblade, let alone _two_ of them…_ CLANG!

Ven spun around and looked up in shock when he heard Roxas dropping his Keyblade to the ground before it disappeared. The Nobody gave Ven a sad and regretful look, tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm… I'm sorry Ventus…" Before Ventus could stop him, he suddenly turned around and ran away- he couldn't fly because of the sadness that filled him, so he just ran.

* * *

_Axel… I'm sorry… I fought with you too with that mindset… and yet… I didn't finish you off either… because you were my friend… Xi… Xi… Xio… I… I had to…_ Static and more static began to fill his head, but he could see through those static… that girl… he remembered fighting her… how much pain he was in emotionally while fighting her… _I… I DID kill someone… Xi… Xion… _As he continued to run, tears began to stream down his face, the static suddenly disappearing as everything began to flood back into his mind.

_I stared as a new member entered the Organization… A fourteenth member? But they were Organization _Thirteen_\- why include a fourteenth?_

"_...Roxas…" The new member suddenly spoke up, the first time I had ever heard her say a word. "...That's your name, right? Roxas…?"_

_I gave a small smile, finally feeling happy again. Xion was eating ice cream with me… She wasn't Axel, but… it was still a friend. I was still having fun with someone…_

_Xion smiled at me, giggling a bit at a joke Axel had just told the both of us. "Oh you two, always playing your little games!" she teased, nudging my shoulder playfully._

Roxas didn't even notice as he bumped into a rock, he just adjusted himself and kept running, as if trying to run away from the memories. _I… I'm so sorry… I didn't mean… I…_ The memories kept flooding through his head, giving him more of a headache than the static did.

"_We got a day off! We should try and _do_ something to remember it!" Xion was so happy about that one day off, she insisted on planning everything on a whiteboard._

"_I'll just go sleep in all day." Axel yawned lazily._

"_But that's such a WASTE!" Xion cried, pouting angrily. "Come on Roxas, surely there's _something_ you can suggest!"_

"_Uh… m-maybe we can go to the clock tower and eat some ice cream like we usually do?" I suggested, smiling sheepishly. I couldn't really think of anything else…_

"_Yes! We'll eat and eat until we burst!" Xion smiled happily, giving me a hug. "I'm glad _somebody_ knows what they want that isn't so wasteful!" She glared jokingly at Axel, sticking out her tongue._

"_Number Fourteen still hasn't returned… I knew that thing was going to break soon." Saix said without emotion, but I could detect some bitterness there._

"_Xion is not a THING! She'll come back!" I snapped at him angrily, clenching my fist furiously._

_Xion had lost the ability to wield her Keyblade, so I loaned her mine until she can. Hoping she'll be able to, and it actually worked! I couldn't have been more happy for her… And every second she got a chance, she would summon her Keyblade, acting so giddy about it._

_Xion… Axel… and I always sat at the top of the clocktower, eating sea-salt ice cream together. It was our favorite pastime… Perhaps the _only_ pastime we ever truly enjoyed as friends._

_But what happened between us? Xion left… she went with the impostor… and she even aimed her Keyblade at me… Xion and Axel fought each other… why would they do that? I'm so confused… I thought we were friends…_

_We got Xion back, but then I hear she ran off again. Why is she leaving? Is there something wrong? Why won't the Organization tell me anything!? Why won't _Axel _tell me anything? Why…? I want answers… and I want to find Xion- even if it means leaving the Organization, I'll find my answers even if it kills me!_

Roxas finally ran straight into a palm tree, and instead of continuing to run, he slowly sank down to the ground, his face a teary mess. _Xion… Why…? Why did you make me fight you? Why did you make me… _kill_ you? We could've just stopped fighting… we could've just kept eating ice cream together… but instead you… I… struck you down… I-I could have done something else… but now you're gone… Xion…_

Roxas felt so exhausted, but the tears didn't stop running down his face. _Xion… I'm… I'm so sorry… how could…how could I have forgotten you? I… I killed you… it was my fault… I… I shouldn't have been fighting you so hard… _He hiccupped, slowly bringing his knees to his chest and hugging them. _M-maybe… maybe Ven's right… I-I shouldn't fight to kill… That's what made me hurt Xion so much… That's what… what made Axel look so weak… Did… did _I_ kill him? Is… that how he got his old self back? Because I killed him…? But I can't just… stop fighting… I can't just… stop… or else everything will… just… _disappear_…_

* * *

Roxas was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice somebody walking up to him before they ruffled his hair. "Yo… Roxas? You okay, buddy?" The blond Nobody slowly looked up, seeing Lea giving him an easygoing, if worried, smile. "What's wrong?"

Roxas turned away from him, as if not being able to stand seeing his old friend like this, knowing it was very possible that he became Lea again because of his own hands. Lea frowned in confusion at this, but he was also concerned, he hadn't seen Roxas act like this since… when? He… couldn't remember.

The redhead slowly kneeled down, holding up a bag. "Hey… I have sea-salt ice cream~ You wanna share it? I somehow got an extra one by accident." He nudged Roxas gently, still holding the bag. "Crazy, right?"

"..." Roxas didn't move, it was like he was a zombie again, but a zombie with tears. _How could he talk to me so carefreely like that? Like nothing ever happened? Like… like I didn't possibly kill him? Like I never killed _Xion_?_

Lea blinked, confused. "...Roxas?" He put the ice cream to the side, grabbing his friend's shoulder. "Hey… what's wrong? C'mon- you can tell me, right? You know I would understand…"

"..." Roxas didn't face Lea, but he finally said something. "... What caused you… to become Lea again? What…" _What killed _Axel_…?_

Lea blinked at the sudden question, but he sighed. "Well… it's kinda crazy, really…" He chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I kinda… used my Limit Break- but I used it when I wasn't low on energy, so it was a lot stronger… not to mention a lot more dangerous for my own health…"

Roxas didn't move, but he thought about this. _So in other words… he ended up killing himself? But… why? He's… he's more careful than that… _"... Why would you do that?"

Lea winced, almost _positive_ that question was coming right afterwards. "Well…" He sighed. "I finally realized you were right… The Organization is bad news- unfortunately, I realized that _way_ too late…" He glanced down, remembering everything right before his 'death' perfectly. "Well… in all but one way, at least… I… I was helping a strong kid get into the World that Never Was- but we got ambushed by a bunch of Nobodies, so… well…"

"... I see…" Roxas said, slowly absorbing this information. _If I saw that happen to him… I might not even be able to handle it. It's bad enough I lost Xion… I don't want to lose Axel too… But… I guess… it's going to happen no matter what, seeing that Lea's here…_ "Axel…"

"It's Lea, got it memorized?" The redhead chuckled, poking his friend's forehead.

"You're still Axel to me." Roxas said, his tone leaving no room for argument. He slowly looked up to face Lea, his eyes begging for an answer. "... Do I... look like I fight... to kill?"

Lea flinched at this, his eyes wide in shock. "What!? _No_! Why would you ever _say_ that, Roxas?" He grabbed his friend's shoulders, shaking him a bit. "Sure, you fight as best as you can, but that's how we were taught- besides, you never kill _anyone_, even though you could've done it to me during our last fight!"

"... That's just it… I don't know anymore. We may not think so, but to others who see how we fight… they think we were assassins, and I don't mean the Nobodies you used to control. And… I _did_ kill someone…" Roxas's voice almost broke at that. "I killed… I killed Xion…"

"..." Lea blinked a bit, confused at that. "...Roxas… who's Xion?" The blond Nobody's eyes widened in shock, but Lea just frowned, his confusion growing. "Was she someone you met in Twilight Town or something?"

"You… you don't… remember Xion?" Roxas frowned, suddenly realizing it. _No… of course he doesn't… _I_ didn't remember her until just now… but why would we forget her? She's our best friend…_ "She was… our best friend… the three of us would always hang out together after and before our missions…"

"..." Lea slowly blinked, not showing any recognition to either the name or the description. "...Come again? Roxas, the only girl in the Organization was _Larxene_\- and we always ate alone, just the two of us." _What in the world is he _talking_ about? I don't remember any Xi… X… whatever her name was…_

_Why doesn't anyone remember Xion?_ Roxas asked himself. _It doesn't make any sense… was it… was it because she was a replica of Sora's memories? _His eyes widened in shock, remembering something else. _… When she was… k-k-killed… and she faded away… is it possible that maybe memories of her faded away too? But… then how do _I_ remember her now?_

Lea frowned, seeing Roxas's face go through a number of emotions- sadness, shock, confusion- none of them positive. _What is he thinking about right now…? _"..." He gave a small grin, nudging Roxas's shoulder. "Hey- so am I gonna leave this ice cream to melt or what? It's free, after all, I don't wanna waste it…"

…_I guess no one can remember… Axel already looks like he forgot about her even though I just said her name. Well… I'm glad that I could at least remember her now… Even if it hurts, I'm happy that I still remember her… _Roxas looked up at him, giving a faint grin. "Sure." He took the ice cream and put it in his mouth, feeling a little better now- sitting beside Axel like old times, and looking out at the sea.

"So… what was with all the waterworks earlier?" Lea asked him as they continued to bite off their sea-salt ice cream bit by bit.

"... Let's just say… Ven and I had a disagreement. I… I don't think I was ever meant to wield the Keyblade- and I mean that more than just because I'm a Nobody." Roxas answered, looking down at his ice cream sadly.

"..." Lea chuckled, ruffling his friend's hair. "Hey… you deserve the Keyblade more than anybody I know- and I mean that too. You're a great guy, Roxas… I don't know what made you think you don't deserve a Keyblade, but you do, a lot more than you think."

"Ven didn't seem to think so… and I'm pretty sure the real Keyblade Masters would agree with him if they saw how I fight. Ven said I was being unnecessarily cruel when I pushed Hook into the water at the crocodile…" Roxas said, still thinking about it.

"Hey…" Lea raised an eyebrow, nudging Roxas's side. "Did you plan to save him if the mean old reptile tried to do lasting damage?" After a moment's hesitation, the boy nodded and Lea grinned. "Well then… you still deserve it, buddy- that's more than most people would do." He gave a small smirk before he paused, glancing at his ice cream bag in confusion. "...Eh?"

"What is it?" the younger Nobody asked, glancing at the bag as well. _Did he put something else in there?_

Lea frowned, slowly pulling out a third ice cream bar. "...When'd I get _this_? I thought I only got two…" _I got the same amount as I always did before I met X- …Before I met _who_?_

Roxas gave a chuckle, as if hearing an inside joke. _I guess Axel hadn't completely forgotten about Xion, after all. It was like with me… We both subconsciously remember her, even though we shouldn't._ "Why don't you take that ice cream to someone else who might like it? … Um… do you know Sora in the timeline you're in?"

Lea blinked, glancing at Roxas as if remembering he was there. "H-huh? ...Oh… yeah…" He glanced at the ice cream again, slowly putting it by Roxas's side. _Why did I get that weird feeling with that third ice cream…? _"...Actually…" He chuckled slightly, leaning his head against the tree. "That kid I sacrificed myself for? That was Sora…"

Roxas looked at him, surprised. "... You… did it to save Sora? …. I see…" Roxas shook his head. "Well… when you get back to your timeline… give this ice cream to Sora, and tell him that a friend wanted to give it to him."

Lea smirked slightly, shaking his head. "Heh… Nah, he's gotta buy his own." Roxas blinked at that, before he felt a finger poke his forehead. "You wanna know why? Because while he's a good kid… he ain't_ you_." Lea chuckled a bit, lowering his hand. "And honestly, he's never gonna _be_ you…"

Roxas took the ice cream and saw it was covered in a plastic bag before he put it in his pocket. "Right… I guess I'll just give it to someone else then, maybe_ they'll_ like it. And… thanks, Axel, I'm happy to hear someone telling me that I'm _not_ Sora for once."

Lea chuckled, shrugging. "What can I say? You two are like night and day…" He finished his ice cream and then slowly stood up, turning to Roxas. "Well… I gotta get going again, okay Roxas?" He leaned down, ruffling the blond-haired boy's hair playfully.

"Why?" Roxas frowned, looking up at Lea with a childish pout. "I was hoping we could travel together…" He also just finished his ice cream, now just chewing on the stick.

Lea smirked faintly, but it looked slightly strained. "Yeah, well… You're close to the end of your journey, Roxas- you gotta finish this alone… Well, maybe not ALONE, but not with me right next to you- and where you're going, I can't directly interfere…" He sighed, glancing up at the sky. _If only… if only _someone_ was here… but who is it I'm thinking of? I… can't tell…_

"... You make it sound so_ final_." Roxas said with a sigh, looking back down at the sand. "I get it… I'm supposed to stick with one of those three I've been with this whole journey, right? I don't get it though- why _should_ I? It's not like I should even _be _here, to mess up the events that happened in the past… so why?"

Lea chuckled, flicking Roxas's forehead playfully as the poor boy yelped. "Heh- Roxas, I can't tell you why since I don't know myself… But you'll do fine- I know you'll do your best to survive."

Roxas sighed as Lea walked away into a Dark Corridor he summoned, disappearing and leaving the Nobody alone once again. Roxas just sat there, thinking of what he should do… and if there was anything he could do for Xion… _I made her a promise… to set Kingdom Hearts free… What should I do? I don't want to be marked as a killer… I don't care if I can never be a Keyblade Master, but I don't want Terra, Aqua or Ven to think of me as someone who would willingly kill someone…_

* * *

The Nobody continued to think, but this time he noticed when he began to hear footsteps walking towards him. Roxas looked up, and he flinched in shock when he saw the last person he wanted to run into right now. "V-Ven… I…"

"No, don't run away again!" Ven grabbed his arm, frowning a bit. "Please, just hear me out Roxas!"

Roxas frowned, not looking up at him. "I don't really… want to hear it again Ven…"

Ventus sighed, kneeling down so he'd be right at Roxas's level. "I… Roxas…" _I… shouldn't be saying this… but… _"I'm sorry, okay? I… it may be cruel, but… you're from a completely different area than me- I can't blame you for how you've been trained…" _He's still going to fight the same way… but… I should try to accept it- it isn't him being taken over by darkness, it's just… how he fights._

The Nobody looked up at his look alike, caught off-guard by this. "... You're apologizing? … But why? I don't fight like you do… I take advantage of my enemies and their weaknesses, I don't always fight 'fair'." _What changed his mind?_

Ven nodded, reluctantly acknowledging all of this. "Y-yeah… but…" He shrugged, giving a weak smile. "You're clearly not trained the same way as us- you know some techniques I don't know, and vice versa… I still don't like it- but if you're going to fight like that… I shouldn't just blow up in your face about it." Then he hesitated. "..B-but still, you… _were_ planning to save Hook… right?"

Roxas nodded, giving a weak grin. "I never wanted to kill him, just get him to go away." He looked down, though, not sure if he should admit that he had killed someone, and his_ best friend _no less. Of course, because he remembered Xion, he now knew why he can wield two Keyblades, one of them was… hers… and apparently he inherited it when she… disappeared. The only problem is… _The next time someone asks me why I could dual wield, I won't be able to say the truth anymore…_

Ven frowned in confusion, shaking Roxas's shoulder. "Hey… you okay?" Roxas started a bit, confused. "C'mon- we're going to go put something that's special to us in the treasure chest two boys brought back… Maybe you can put something in there, too."

Roxas stood up and said, frowning a bit, "But I don't have anything…" Then he remembered that sea-salt ice cream Axel/Lea gave him. "Oh… hey Ven…" He took out the ice cream wrapped in the plastic bag from his pocket. "You like ice cream… so why don't you try this one?"

Ven blinked a bit, staring at the ice cream in surprise. "...Well… sure, I guess." He gave a small grin, taking it from his friend's hand. "Heh.. Thanks, Roxas." The two boys' hands touched for a moment, and Roxas felt another jolt of energy go up his hand as the blond look-alike peeled off the wrapping.

"Whoa!" Roxas was so caught off guard by that sudden feeling that he pulled his hand back after Ven took the ice cream. The Nobody looked at his hand as if worried that Ven pulled a prank on him and zapped his arm or something, but… there wasn't anything on his skin indicating he got shocked. _What was that?_

Ven didn't notice, though, taking a bite of the sea-salt ice cream. "Huh… It's salty, but sweet!" He blinked, looking at the ice cream in surprise, before he gave a soft grin. "...I like it- not bad at all!"

"Yeah, it's actually my personal favorite flavor. It… also holds a lot of special memories for me." Roxas said as he looked at the stick he was chewing on earlier… and the ironic thing is that it says 'WINNER' on it. _Wow… that's just crazy- this is, what, the tenth 'WINNER' stick I've ever gotten? _He grinned slightly, before glancing up at Ven. "...You know… I think I have something after all, Ven."

The blond boy smiled, still munching on his own ice cream. "Really? What is it, Roxas?" _I'm glad I was able to apologize to him- I really _was_ being too rude there…_

"This stick. See here? It says 'winner', and usually it means you can turn the stick in for an extra ice cream, if you save enough you can get a prize. But I remember holding onto my first winner stick for a long time before I gave it to my friend…" Roxas explained as he smiled at the stick. "It may not look like much, and maybe to a lot it looks like trash, but it's one of my greatest treasures."

The two began to walk back, Ventus giving a bright smile to his Nobody friend. "Heh… That's sweet, Roxas- to be honest, that's a lot sweeter than anything I'll probably give…" Then he grinned, glancing over at Roxas. "So, Roxas… you gonna try my D-Link anytime soon?"

Roxas's eyes widened at that, surprised. "What? Huh? D-Link? But we didn't… did we?" The Nobody was confused, but then he thought back on that sudden strange jolt that went through his hand when he touched Ven's hand. "Wait… was it when we touched hands!?"

Ven nodded, giving a bright smile. "Yeah, I think so- that's when I felt you make it, actually!" Then he paused, frowning thoughtfully. "Hey… what did you put the D-Link spell onto for your item? I didn't even realize you had one… Now I wanna see what it is, though!"

Roxas remembered Terra telling him to show Ven his Wayfinder… Honestly, the Nobody forgot with all that's happened. "Oh… right." Roxas reached into his pocket and pulled out the green Wayfinder. "I actually didn't know there was a spell on it, just that an old friend of mine gave it to me."

Ven glanced over and paused, his eyes widening in shock as he dropped his ice cream stick. "W-wait… that looks just like…" He frowned in confusion, pulling out his own Wayfinder… It was green and looked just like the Nobody's. "...Where did you say you got that again?"

"..." Roxas was staring at it, his jaw dropped. "... U-uh, what? Okay, my friend… his name's Axel… he just told me someone told him to give it to me, but he didn't say who."

Ven frowned a bit, slowly putting his personal Wayfinder away. "Well… somehow, they made it look just like mine… That's kinda weird, really- I didn't expect to find someone else with a Wayfinder like that…" Then he grinned a bit, putting an arm around Roxas's shoulder. "Well, I guess it's a way of saying we're close…" _Despite how creepy it is…_

"Yeah… I guess so…" Roxas frowned, still looking at the Wayfinder in his hand. _Okay, this is just straight up ripping off now. Am I Sora's Nobody or Ventus's? This makes no sense! Why the heck do we have the same dang Wayfinder!?_ _We have the same looks, similar clothing, same eyes, same voice, our lives are kind of similar too… What is going ON here? … Just who am I _supposed_ to be?_

While Roxas was thinking about why he and Ventus were so similar, the two arrived at Mermaid Lagoon, where the two Keyblade Wielders had fought Captain Hook. To Roxas's surprise, both Peter and the two Lost Boys were there, along with the empty chest… Well, not so empty anymore- now it was filled with a bunch of wooden swords and a bow or two.

"Hey! Looks like you found Roxas!" Peter smiled. "Are you two going to put something in the chest too?"

Ven smiled as he thought about it, crossing his arms. "Well… let's see…" Then an idea came to him as he took out the wooden Keyblade Terra had made for him. "I'll put this in there."

Roxas blinked as he saw the wooden Keyblade, and he looked at his friend in confusion. "Ven, isn't that what Terra made for you? Are you sure you want to just give it up?"

Ven shook his head, holding it up into the sky. "Heh… It's special to me, but I don't need it if I've got Terra and Aqua! Our best memories are still ahead." He smiled, placing the wooden Keyblade into the chest. "Besides, this way it isn't broken or lost- I can come back here at any time, remember?"

"Of course! We'll be happy to see you again!" Peter said with a smile as Ven put the wooden Keyblade into the chest. "What about you, Roxas? Anything you want to add in there?"

Roxas nodded as he took out the stick from his pocket, the stick that says 'WINNER' on it. "This doesn't seem like much, but this stick carries a lot of special memories for me and my friends. I find it to be one of my greatest treasures."

Peter smiled, nodding. "Hey, I gotcha- it doesn't matter _what_ somebody else thinks of your treasure- as long as it means something to you, it's all worth it in the end."

Roxas blushed a bit, smiling sheepishly, before Ven noticed Tinker Bell about to put the Star Shard into the chest. "O-oh, hey, Tink? I think that belongs to a friend of mine. Do you think maybe I could hang onto it?"

Tinker Bell shook her head as she tried to put it in the chest. Roxas looked over at her, frowning a bit. "Hey, I know you want to put something in the chest, but maybe you shouldn't put something in there that belongs to someone else, they could be looking for it." Tinker Bell paused at that, before she pouted, reluctantly giving it to Ven. Roxas smiled, nodding gratefully. "Thank you- I know you must've been upset about that!" _I'm not even sure how it got here, but I don't care- it's Mickey's, he should have it back._

Ven smiled, looking at the Star Shard curiously, before it began to glow! "W-wha? Whoa!" He yelped, suddenly disappearing in a flash of light! Everyone had to shut their eyes for a second for the light to die down.

* * *

Roxas gasped when he saw Ven was gone and noticed a… 'shooting star' going wonky in the sky as it went away from the world he was on. "... Looks like Ven's leaving…" He frowned, worriedly crossing his arms. _Well… he didn't leave me behind on purpose, but… I would've liked to go with him for now… I want to know more about him, why we look so much alike… what is our connection…_

"Well don't worry Roxas, I'm sure he'll be back." Peter said as he patted Roxas's shoulder. Then he perked up, smiling. "Hey, I know! Why don't I go ahead and hide this treasure chest? I'll mark the place I hid it in on a map, and whoever finds the map gets to be the leader of the expedition!"

"Yeah!" the Bear Boy spoke excitedly.

"I wanna be leader this time!" Fox Boy jumped happily.

Roxas gave a small smile, thinking it over. "... Well… I guess I can play for a little while…" _I might as well enjoy whatever time I have left in this timeline…If… _when_ I get back… I guess I won't be _me _anymore… so I'd better enjoy this time while I can._

"Alright, I'll go ahead and hide the map and the treasure. You three go ahead and try to find it, best of luck!" Peter Pan smiled as he flew off with the treasure chest.

"Oh boy! I just know I'll be leader this time!" Bear Boy spoke with excitement.

"No way, I'll be leader!" Fox Boy said determinedly.

"Why don't we just go look for the map? That'll decide who the leader will be." Roxas suggested.

"Alright, first one finds the map is the leader!" Fox Boy pumped his fist in the air. "One, two, three GO!" And with that, he and Bear Boy suddenly took off!

Roxas just chuckled as he began walking, not in any hurry- he wanted to enjoy the scenery, maybe even take a nice flight. _Too bad Xion never got a chance to fly here… she would've loved it…_

* * *

**Key2DestNE: …. *his head poked up from behind a couch, and he sneakily looked back and forth before he grinned, jumping up to sit on it and beginning to play on his 3DS again* Hee hee hee~! Now then… where were we? Ah yeah, the-**

**DarkFoxKit: *releases a Treecko that snatches his 3DS away* Key! *uses Oathkeeper to keep him in place.* We have questions and answers to do, NOW. We PROMISED them, remember?**

**Key2DestNE: Wah! *yelps before pouting* Aww, come on- how do you always find me just as I begin to play!? *DarkFoxKit merely poked him with Oathkeeper* ….Ugh.. fiiiiine, what's the first question?**

**DarkFoxKit: First of all, I'd like to say that wow, Roxas is really going through a lot of emotional pain here for someone who 'has no heart'. He remembered Xion, and Lea makes a return, yay! Okay sure he didn't fight or anything but still, having a, ahem, 'heart to heart' with him was pretty warming wasn't it?**

**Key2DestNE: Yeah… the poor Nobody's really getting some emotional baggage within this time traveling experience. Still, at least this gives you all some more reason to like him, right~? *winks mischievously***

**DarkFoxKit: Antex-The Legendary Zoroark, always happy to see your reviews! Now then… yes, the Crocodile was more of a sudden idea when we had Roxas jump into the water, but it was a fun one! And as for Xehanort and Terra using Rock Breaker, well you can use it as Terra and Xehanort seems to have it too. And when he possesses Terra, most likely it got stronger.**

**Key2DestNE: CatLoverx33, yeah- Roxas is going to make more D-Links in the future, just not many due to the Nobody being, well, a time traveler. And as for the limit break… W-wait, huh? *pauses, reading the review again* ...Uh, no offense, but were you paying attention? We had Roxas use it a decent amount throughout the story- maybe not calling out the exact name, but… Were we that subtle, Fox?**

**DarkFoxKit: I didn't think we were, we outright said 'he activated his limit break'. It mostly happens during boss battles like Vanitas, re-read that if you want. And Unicorn1000… *twitches* … *takes a deep breath* Oy... Key, you go first.**

**Key2DestNE: Right… unicron, I'm pretty sure you're a troll by now- either way, DO NOT just say one word during your reviews, or we'll have to take some kind of action. We've said, over and over, for people NOT to leave one or two-word reviews, and for the most part they've worked with us on it! So I really just wanna know… why do you keep doing it even if we say not to?**

**DarkFoxKit: We have been patient with you, but I do not appreciate seeing a new review only to see that one word you put over and over again. 'Update'. 'Update'. 'Update'! What the heck do you think we've been doing every Monday!?**

**Key2DestNE: … *takes a deep breath* Well, either way, we've got that out of the way and we can prove we did indeed give him warning if he continues. Now then, ultima-owner, I think tick tock the croc is actually a great name- and I'm glad you think he was a good boss! *smiles, shrugging* We had to put in our own stuff somehow, right?**

**DarkFoxKit: Yeah, but canonically I don't think it has a name, he's just called 'The Crocodile'. And KPGirl1227… thank you so much for your compliment, we greatly appreciate it! Although, I don't understand why you think it got dull when Roxas is in the same world more than a couple of chapters. Honestly, we're almost at the end here and we needed more to do with Roxas before getting there.**

**Key2DestNE: Not just for padding, mind you- we needed to give Roxas some development while within these worlds, and keeping him on one world for a few chapters longer is much easier than making a whole new world just for the 4 of them to go to, wouldn't you say?**

**DarkFoxKit: And I'm sorry if it's getting 'repetitive', I was under the impression with so many different stuff was happening to Roxas it hardly looks that way at all to me. Alright- next… 'Speculator'. Wow, now that's a long review. Thank you for reviewing before tomorrow, this way Key and I can both answer you.**

**Key2DestNE: Heh… I agree, Terra is being a bit of a dork, but that's why we love him- he's a dorky lovable gentle giant! And even though Neverland isn't a sad story arc in and of itself… well… I'm sure you're glad you brought those tissues out now, right?**

**DarkFoxKit: I know I wished I had them while typing this. *sniff* And you never know with Vanitas, he's a mystery himself. As for Eraqus? Well, the poor man never really… you know, interacts with Roxas after he left due to certain circumstances, so it's up to the readers as to how he's taking it.**

**Key2DestNE: All in all, Eraqus is kind of a mystery- he appears for a maximum of 20 minutes throughout each story, so this doesn't really try to add anything more to his character. Xehanort being a troll as usual? ...Yeah, pretty much- we're not gonna deny it, that's him alright. *nods sagely***

**DarkFoxKit: Well, Key may have misspoken when he said 'we never mention Namine in the story' since she was in the prologue, but… well we don't have any pairings in this story because, as we have stated many times before, it's really close to the canon. So whether Roxas pairs up with Xion or Namine is really up to the readers or the rest of the Kingdom Hearts story. Also, I think you kinda lost us with that whole color detail…**

**Key2DestNE: Finally, you said that you don't think you have the proper writing skills to do it. Well… many stories on here aren't good- we're just one of the better ones. This isn't a place for perfect writing skills- it's a place for you to put headcanons or crazy situations. So go nuts!**

**DarkFoxKit: It's also a good chance to practice too, some reviewers are good critics believe it or not, and there is a difference between critics and outright haters. Critics are trying to point out flaws to help you improve, while haters just say they hate it for no real reason, I had a few of those myself. I know, I take it to heart too, but we can't let that stop us from doing what we love, and I apologize if I made you sulk and whine from the praise, I was just showing my appreciation for your review.**

**Key2DestNE: As for your writing ideas being all dialogue… great- some stories don't need description! And writing what people are doing might seem hard, but it isn't, not as much as you think- so go nuts! Hmm… I think that's pretty much it, right Fox?**

**DarkFoxKit: Yup, that's about it! Okay readers, we're done for this week. I am DarkFoxKit, he's Key2DestNE and we look forward to hearing from you!**

**Key2DestNE: Great! ...NOW CAN I HAVE MY 3DS BACK!? *cue the static***


	17. Chapter 16: Darkness, Light and Twilight

**Key2DestNE: Well would you look at that- another chapter of Roxas's Story is out! *grins* I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and for now, that you all like this chapter! Now le- … *chuckles, walking offscreen* Oh Fooooox~ *walks back on, holding a 3DS high up in the air like a dog treat* C'mon, we gotta do Roxas's Story now!**

**DarkFoxKit: *a basketball flies out of nowhere and hits Key upside the head***

**Key2DestNE: OW! H-hey, I know you want your 3DS, so unless you come out here and do this AN, I'll give it to Roxas for HIM to play instead!**

**DarkFoxKit: *grouchily walks out onstage* Sorry folks… I guess that Thanksgiving week kinda made us a bit lazy and lax.**

**Key2DestNE: Good thing I'm here to keep you on track, then~ *winks at her before turning to the camera* Anyways, yeah- this chapter will be about Roxas meeting up with a certain Keyblade Master… I wonder how he'll enjoy his time on Neverland with her~ Hee hee… Enjoy! Your turn to do the copyright, Fox!**

**DarkFoxKit: *was playing on the 3DS despite Key holding it. It was Key's 3DS she was playing.* Huh? Oh, right. We don't own Kingdom Hearts or the characters, just the concept.**

**Key2DestNE: ...You really need to get your own games. *sweatdrops, yanking the 3DS out of her hands***

* * *

**Chapter 16: Darkness, Light and Twilight**

After a while of just exploring Neverland, marveling at just how much of the island he hadn't explored while he was in the Organization, Roxas was just flying around, thinking about Xion once more- as if trying to make up for the time he had forgotten about her. _I… Thinking back on it, I really _did_ begin to forget her after… after she disappeared. After all… my memories afterwards… During that fight with Riku, even… I was having trouble remembering her _name_…but… what made me remember her now? Was it what Ven had said? … It could be more than that… I've been remembering Xion more and more since I got to this timeline…_

Roxas flew over the ocean, using his hand to feel the water, it felt quite nice against his fingers. He smiled softly, swirling a finger around in the water. _The ocean… Xion loved that world… that world with the beach… Did we go there? I think we did… but it felt surreal, like a dream… I can't tell if we ever did go there with her or not… Maybe… maybe I should see if I can find it again- when I have time, that is. I would like to see that world… one more time before… before I have to go forever…_

Roxas frowned, his thoughts turning to what he was going to do almost as soon as he got back. _Xion… I… did you know this would happen? Did you know… that I'd have to leave… and go back into Sora's heart? …Did… did _you_ have to as well? Was… _that_ why you left? Because you knew… you'd have to join up with Sora? _He frowned, finding himself growing furious with Sora as he thought more about his friend. _Why… Why is _he_ so special when I'm not!? I… neither Xion nor I looked like him… but… in the end… _he's_ chosen over us? Why? _WHY_!? If… if he didn't have to wake up… maybe Xion wouldn't have had to die…_

The Nobody slowly fell into the water, his angry thoughts made his body drop. Roxas shook his head as he swam back to shore, still feeling upset and angry. _… But then again… maybe it's not Sora's fault… he didn't _ask_ for any of this… in fact, he may not have _wanted_ others to die for his sake- he sacrificed himself beforehand… Xion… she would've never even existed if not for him… And even if she did, she still would've had to die because… if she didn't, I would've instead… there _was_ no good solution was there…?_

Tears began to slide down his cheeks as he reached the shore, his hands desperately clutching for a firm handhold in the dry sand sliding through his fingers. _I… no matter what… we were a tragedy from the beginning- no way out… no way to fix it… and the one left behind… would have felt just like I am right now…! X-Xion… I'm sorry… I'm sorry for everything I did to harm you… to make you upset… I… it should be _me_ who fell in that fight- not you…_

* * *

"_Roxas… don't be sad…"_

Roxas's head shot up, he could've sworn he heard Xion's voice! "Xion? Xion, is- is that you?"

"_I came from you and Sora…"_

The Nobody frowned… this sounded more like a memory… the last words Xion said to him before he had completely forgotten her.

"_I _am_ you… the same way that I am Sora."_

Roxas gasped, shaking his head frantically. "N-no… No, Xion, you're not me at all! You're… you're your own person- you always were… and you always _should_ have been…"

"_You'll forget me, but the memories themselves will _never_ go away. Memories of you and me will always be together- _forever_, inside him."_

Roxas's eyes began to tear up once more as he punched the sand weakly, trying to deny what he knew was coming next. "No… N-no, please don't… Please don't say i-"

"_Goodbye, Roxas… I'll see you in Sora… I'll be waiting- inside him…"_

"No! Xion!" Roxas cried as he curled up on himself. "Please don't go… I don't want to lose you again…" The crying Nobody shook his head, beginning to sniffle. "Why is it always about Sora? What makes _him_ so special? What makes a Nobody different from the original? It's not fair… it never _was_ fair… I have friends, people who care about me, like Sora- so why do_ I_ have to disappear? Why did Xion have to disappear?" Roxas sighed, slowly letting his head hit the sand underneath him. _Maybe it would've been easier if Xion was just a normal puppet… maybe then it wouldn't have hurt so much when she… when I had to… It just isn't fair…_

* * *

"_Roxas…"_

Roxas froze, his eyes wide in shock. _W… what? That voice… You?_

"_I'm finally… able to talk to you… while awake… I can't stay long… but…"_

… _What is it? What do you want?_

"_I can… feel your sadness… your pain…"_

… _Yeah, so? What are you going to do about it? Once this is over… I'll be gone… and so will every trace of Xion, or what's left of her…_

"_No… not quite… You'll both be together… even if it doesn't… seem like it…"_

_Maybe, maybe not… either way… I've been doomed from the moment I was born. And you… you've been helping me throughout this whole experience… why did you even bring me back here? I would've been fine just joining Sora before all this… before I've made… ties… and bonds with… Terra, Aqua and Ven- but now it's going to hurt even more to leave them…_

"_Your tragedy… isn't the only one… You will see… You're not the only one… left alone in the end… Maybe then… you'll feel better… about what will happen."_

_The tragedy of others doesn't make me feel better… especially if it's going to happen to those three. I get it now… you want me to see what happens to them… but… why? I don't understand…_

"_You will soon, Roxas… I wanted… to help you… give you… a second… chance."_

_What? I have no second chance… once I return, everything will just go back to normal, assuming the universe doesn't explode first._

"_It won't… trust me. I know… what I'm doing. Don't worry… Roxas… it'll be clear… to you… when the time… is right."_

… _Could you… please give me your name?_

* * *

But the conversation was interrupted once again, because Roxas bristled when he felt a familiar immense of darkness in the area. _Oh… no… don't tell me it's Vanitas again!_ The voice had gone silent. Roxas sighed as he stood up, but he was thankful for the distraction… he didn't want to sink back into his depressive thoughts right now.

Roxas ran towards the Indian Tribe, that's where he felt the darkness, and when he did, he saw the Bear Boy and Fox Boy approaching something with excitement. Roxas blinked as he caught up to them and saw what appears to be a scrolled up piece of paper… and someone's hand taking it.

"Aww!" Bear Boy pouted, crossing his arms. "_I_ wanted to be the leader this time…"

Fox Boy pouted as well, muttering, "We were _so_ close…"

"Too bad, men!" Peter Pan landed on the ground in front of the person who had found the map as Roxas walked up behind the Lost Boys. "Tough break- but you know the rules! The first one to find the treasure map gets to be the leader. And that's you, miss!"

The one who picked up the map turned out to be Aqua! She hadn't noticed Roxas yet, though, as she gave Peter a somewhat surprised look. "Oh, sorry but I have something important to do right now. Here, you can have this back." She quickly tried to hand it back to the boy in green.

"Sorry, but rules are rules. If you're not going to join, then I guess we'll have to cancel the expedition." Peter said firmly as he crossed his arms, making the two Lost Boys sigh disappointingly. Then a certain pixie flew down, yelling in his face. "...Hey, I never said girls can't be part of the gang! Besides, the more the merrier!"

Aqua hesitated, but she sighed, reluctantly nodding. "Alright… you win- I'll join you for _one_ 'expedition', boys." The two Lost Boys cheered happily.

Then Roxas decided to make himself known, and he tapped her shoulder. "Hey Aqua, glad to see you're playing with these kids." He smiled at her, happy to see her again.

Aqua's eyes widened as she noticed Roxas, and her jaw nearly dropped. "...R-Roxas? Wha- how did you get here? The last time I saw you, you were on the spaceship!"

"What? You didn't think I'd stay there _forever_, did you?" Roxas said as he gave a sly smirk to her and crossed his arms. "Nah, I got bored after a while- so I came here with Ven. This is a pretty fun place- I think you'll enjoy the expedition, along with the treasure!"

Peter Pan smiled, holding out a hand. "Looks like you two know each other- great! Well then- you still don't know _our_ names, but it's nice to know that _you're_ Aqua!" The blue-haired woman blinked in surprise at that, but he continued to speak. "I'm Peter Pan- the jealous one here is Tinker Bell, Tink for short."

"It's nice to meet you." Aqua said politely before turning back to Roxas. "Wait, are you saying Ven is here too?"

"He _was_, but he left a little while ago before you got here." Roxas said a bit sheepishly. "I don't even think he meant to- he used another way to get off this world by accident. I don't suppose you've met Mickey, have you?"

Aqua blinked, but before she could say anything, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell flew up into the air. "Well then, enough chatting! First stop- Mermaid Lagoon!"

Roxas smiled at Aqua as he walked forward, deciding not to show off his flying skills to her until after she gains some pixie dust herself. "Come on Aqua!"

"Wait up!" Aqua quickly followed him, along with the Lost Boys.

* * *

As the group was walking, Aqua spoke again, glancing at him. "So why didn't_ you_ leave yet?"

"I suppose I just don't feel like leaving right now." Roxas answered. "But… maybe when you leave… could I come with you?" _I've always stuck with at least one of them when they leave, so I think I should keep that trend going._

Aqua blinked in surprise, but she slowly nodded, giving a warm smile. "Sure… I only have a world or two left to check for Terra and Ven, anyways- I suppose you could join me for the last bit of my journey." Then she opened up the map, beginning to examine it. "...I'm surprised- this has a lot of detail in it."

"It's to make the game fair, if it was hard to read then we'd get nowhere." Peter Pan spoke up from the sky.

"Good point." Roxas commented. with a shrug. "So Aqua, any idea where the treasure could be?"

Aqua slowly nodded, glancing around. "I believe so… We were back at that Indian camp- and now we're here… The treasure should be here…" They continued to walk along before they heard a voice, one familiar to everyone but the new leader.

"Today's the day I will settle my score with you Peter Pan! _And _I'll have me treasure back!"

"Oh no… not _him_ again." Roxas groaned.

"I'm a bit busy right now, you codfish, can't we reschedule this later?" Peter grumbled, also sounding annoyed. "We're on an expedition!"

Captain Hook twitched, beginning to rant and rave. "You'll fight me NOW, you brat! Give back me treasure! I'll cleave you into two bits, boy!"

"Who is this guy?" Aqua asked, frowning in confusion.

"It's Captain Hook, the guy's been chasing after us because of some precious treasure." Roxas grumbled next to her. "The guy's a nut, but he's also a decent fighter."

"Sounds like you've had more than one scuffle with him, Roxas." The blue haired woman said with a slight frown.

"Yes… yes I did." Roxas sighed, palming his forehead.

"How long were you in this world?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know… maybe about… three days?" Roxas wasn't entirely sure about the time. "I'm not positive- there isn't really a night in this world…" _It's like there's no time in this world at all… the only reason I could determine days passed was because of my counting the days when I was in the Organization..._

Aqua blinked, but then the six of them heard a soft whistling sound… Then a metal cannonball nearly smashed into them, barely missing them all! "Whoa! We're sitting ducks out here- run!" Everyone nodded, beginning to run as fast as they could.

"Geez, does this guy ever quit!?" Roxas grumbled. "I mean, this isn't the first time he's using cannonballs to shoot us!"

"That's how Captain Hook is, he'll ever give up, the codfish." Peter said, flying beside him.

_Does he ever use his legs to walk?_ Roxas thought to himself as they fled deeper into the trees and out of the ocean view.

Soon, they all reached a waterfall. Glancing at the map, Bear Boy stared up at the top. "The mark on the map points all the way up _there_!"

Peter Pan shrugged, smirking confidently. "Aw, relax. A little pixie dust, and we'll be up there in a jiffy. Tinker Bell, do your stuff!"

The little pixie put her hands on her hips and seemed to be arguing with him, but Peter wouldn't have it, and he raised an eyebrow. "We don't have all day, Tink."

"Come on Tinker Bell, the sooner we find that treasure, the sooner you can have Peter Pan all to yourself." Roxas said to her with a sly smile. The pixie blushed a deep red, and she began spinning around all three of the people who couldn't fly at the moment.

Aqua blinked, glancing at Tinker Bell in confusion. "Uh… Roxas? What is she doing?" _This tickles a bit, but other than that…_

"She's spreading pixie dust on you." Roxas answered with a mischievous smile.

"But Peter, we've never had to fly up that high before!" Fox Boy said nervously.

"What if we fall?" Bear Boy asked just as nervously.

"Come on men, since when did you turn into cowards? Only the bravest of the brave can get that treasure." Peter said with his arms crossed.

"Um… aren't you asking a little bit much for them?" Aqua asked, frowning nervously. "They're just kids…"

"They need to toughen up if they hope to find the treasure." Peter said. "Now come on men, you can do it!"

The two Lost Boys nodded as they focused on flying, slowly, up to the top. Roxas walked beside Aqua, smirking. "So… ready to fly?" Aqua thought that flying in this world only applied to those who live in it, so what Roxas said caught her off guard.

Aqua blinked a few times, looking at the blond-haired boy as if he was crazy. "W-what? What are you talking about? We can't fly- we're not part of this world, Roxas!"

"What's that got to do with anything? It hasn't stopped me before. Remember when you saw me gliding?" Roxas asked her, still smirking.

"..." Aqua slowly nodded as she remembered back at Enchanted Dominion- at the time, Roxas was in that black coat, he was literally gliding through the air, something she had never seen a person do before.

"Well, it was because of this world. The flying taught me how to glide outside of this world on my own. You just have to think of happy thoughts and believe you can fly, come on, try it." the Nobody urged as he began to float above her, showing her it was indeed possible.

"..." Aqua was still shocked about how he was actually _flying_, but she managed to keep her jaw attached to her face. "I… just think of happy thoughts and believe you can fly? That's_ it_?"

"Yes, that's it. Go on Aqua, think of the happiest memory you can think of, it's easier than you think." Roxas said to her with a smile.

Sighing, the Keyblade Master closed her eyes and began to think. First she thought about the happy moments she's had with Roxas, as few as they were so far. Then she thought of Ven and Terra… How much they brightened her life, how much she missed them. _If only I could apologize to you, Terra- maybe you'd ruffle Ven's hair, pick him up and carry him to bed despite his protests…_ She giggled slightly, before noticing a voice speaking to her.

* * *

"...qua? Aqua… AQUA!" The blue-haired woman yelped, instantly falling back on the ground. Roxas sweatdropped, chuckling slightly. "Uh… we've reached the top."

"Wh-WHAT!?" Aqua looked around herself, seeing she was floating again… and how _high _she was floating! "Whoa!"

"Gotcha!" Roxas had to grab her arm before she fell and pulled her up. "Geez, be more careful Aqua- you almost fell, and at this height that would've hurt."

Aqua blinked, still in shock at what just happened. "I… I actually _flew_?"

"Yes, I guess you had a lot of happy memories if you were able to fly up here without noticing." Roxas said with a small smile. _Wish I could say the same… My only happy memories are the times I've spent with Axel and Xion. Then again, meeting with these three also brings happy memories, even if it wasn't for very long._

Aqua blinked slowly, still shocked. "I… I didn't even _realize _I was flying… It's really that simple…" She began testing her new ability, smiling a bit. _Wow… this is… This is amazing!_

"It's great, isn't it?" Roxas said as he flew up with her. Peter Pan, Tinker Bell and the Lost Boys were scouring ahead. "Just seeing the world from above here is nice." _I just realized Terra never got to fly here… how unfortunate… I'm sure he would've loved it too…_

_And to think I wouldn't even know about this if Roxas hadn't mentioned it._ Aqua thought to herself as she flew around the skies with the Nobody following her. She was wobbling a bit, not used to levitating on her own, but Roxas seemed at ease, as if he was used to it. "Roxas… how long have you been doing this again?"

Roxas blinked at the question, thinking about it for a moment. "I'm not sure… I first visited this world about… three months ago, I think?" _Well, at least before I traveled back in time… Now it's probably ten years and nine months into the _future_… _"But this is the first time I've met with Peter Pan and those boys."

"Wow, so you've already practiced." Aqua said as Roxas nodded.

"Come on Aqua, I think Peter and the others are waiting for us." The young boy chuckled, seeing the older woman acting like a child in the air.

Aqua pouted a bit, glancing at her friend. "But Roxas, this is too much fun!" Then she blinked, realizing what she looked like at the moment, and she turned bright red. "...We shall never speak of this again…"

Roxas was chuckling in amusement, shaking his head slightly. "Of course not~ Now come on, we've got an expedition to finish."

Aqua nodded, flying up to the other boys. Bear Boy looked around, pouting as they all realized the same thing. "Aww, this is back where we started! We went all the way around Neverland for nothin'..."

"Well, we've managed to overcome a lot of obstacles along the way, so that counts for something." Peter said in a positive light.

Aqua smiled as she landed beside him, speaking up. "You know, I had you all wrong… You were only looking out for them back there, like a good leader."

Peter Pan chuckled sheepishly, turning away from her. "Yeah, of course I was- this is _me_ we're talking about!"

Roxas smirked at that, before they heard a familiar 'cultured' voice and he groaned. "You're too late, Peter Pan! I'll be taking back what's_ mine_ now!" It was Captain Hook with the treasure chest! "Smee… Secure me treasure."

"He's not going to like what he sees in there." Roxas said, fully grinning by now.

As if on cue, Smee opened the treasure chest and gasped, his eyes wide in shock. "U-u-uh Capin' u-uh-"

"Spit it out Smee!" Hook snapped in irritation.

"Th-the treasure…" Smee pointed and Hook looked and gasped when all he saw were wooden toys and what appeared to be an eaten popsicle stick.

"WHAT!? What happened to me treasure!? Why is it filled with all this _junk_!?" the pirate snapped angrily as he glared at them. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME TREASURE!?"

"Told ya." Roxas whispered, a sly grin on his face.

Peter Pan blinked, confused. "Whaddaya mean, _junk_? Those are our treasures, Hook! We already lost _your_ treasure! It wasn't even that good- just the same old pirate things!"

"YOU WHAT!? I'm going to make you PAY for that!" Captain Hook snapped, but suddenly he heard the familiar TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK. Roxas had to wonder how the man's mustache is able to move along with that sound. "T-that s-s-sound… IT'S BACK AGAIN!"

Roxas had pushed Hook back into the water with that crocodile beforehand, and again, Hook was now so terrified that the sight of the reptile just made him run this time. "SMEEEEEEEE!"

* * *

Everyone slowly blinked in surprise before beginning to laugh. Roxas finally cooled down a bit, though, and he flew up with Peter Pan to grab the treasure chest and bring it down.

"Well, we found the treasure, so the expedition was a success!" Roxas smiled as they put the chest down.

Aqua looked at the toys that were in there and saw the wooden Keyblade. "This is…" She picked it up, her eyes wide with shock.

"Oh, that's what Ven put in there, he said it was a special keepsake." Peter explained.

"Yeah, he said he didn't need it anymore because he has you guys." Roxas told her.

Aqua gave a small smile, remembering what Roxas had said before, about Ven being here. _Heh… Ven was here- of course… _Then her head perked up at the same time as Roxas's, staring off towards the Indian camp. _…Along with someone else, apparently._

_Oh no! How could I have forgotten about Vanitas!? I went there to find him in the first place!_ Roxas berated himself, getting a serious look on his face.

Peter Pan and the others blinked, confused. "Uh… what's wrong, you two? You look worse than that codfish on his worst days!"

"It's nothing… but it's best if you boys stay here." Aqua said to the three of them. "There's something we need to check out."

"Yeah, we'll be right back!" Roxas said to them, sounding a bit distracted. "Come on, Aqua!" And with that, he hurried off, Aqua following him. Neither of the Keyblade Wielders flew since they were too worried to think of happy thoughts right now.

* * *

"What could_ he _be doing here?" Roxas frowned. "Ventus isn't even in this world anymore."

Aqua frowned, glancing at Roxas. "You've noticed too, huh?" They both arrived in the Indian camp, looking around in confusion. "I don't get it either… why would he, of all people, be-"

"So, have a good time hanging out with the kiddies?" Aqua and Roxas froze, turning to see Vanitas leaning against a nearby tent, holding the wooden Keyblade.

"H-hey! Where did you get that!?" Aqua snapped at him, frowning.

"_How _did you even get it?" Roxas demanded, worried for Peter and the others since they left the wooden Keyblade with them.

Vanitas didn't answer either of their questions, instead he just held it up. "Sounds like the pipsqueak outgrown this little toy." Then he grabbed it with both hands and broke it in two!

Roxas and Aqua both gasped at this. "Wha!? Hey!" Roxas snapped.

"Just like I've outgrown my use for you, Aqua." Vanitas said as he threw the broken wooden Keyblade aside and summoned his own in his hand.

Aqua began to tremble with fury, seeing Ventus's favorite and most precious item being snapped in two. "W-why you… you _freak_!" She held up her hand, summoning her Keyblade. "How DARE you snap Ven's wooden Keyblade! Roxas, are you going to help me or not!?"

Roxas glared at Vanitas, how could he _do_ that? He angrily summoned Oblivion to his hand. "That was _uncalled_ for, Vanitas!" Without hesitation, he suddenly threw Oblivion at Vanitas in a Strike Raid.

The dark Keyblade Wielder quickly blocked the strike, snatching up the Keyblade. "Oh? Well, I suppose _this_ is uncalled for too!" He dashed forwards, slamming Oblivion into Roxas's stomach! "What's wrong- too afraid to use your _full_ power on me with a witness?"

The Nobody groaned, but he had grabbed the edge of Oblivion to keep it from hitting his stomach and was now struggling against Vanitas with it. "I don't know what you're talking about!" he spat. _Come on Aqua, any time would be nice._

Vanitas smirked under his mask, slamming his Void Gear on Roxas's head. "Don't play dumb- you know _exactly _what I'm- URK!" Aqua had cast Firaga, setting his 'skirt' on fire! He quickly let go of Roxas, patting the flames out. "Why you…!"

Roxas groaned as he rubbed his head, but was thankful Vanitas dropped Oblivion. The Nobody held the handle of his Keyblade once again and used this opportunity to smash it against the dark boy! Then Vanitas suddenly went underground, and Roxas's eyes widened. "AQUA! Get away from him!" he quickly yelled to her before he began dodge rolling away.

Aqua didn't question it as she began cartwheeling away, making it impossible for Vanitas to get to them. It would be easier if they could fly, but they were too tense to really concentrate on flight right now, not to mention still angry that he broke Ven's precious treasure like that.

When Vanitas came out from the ground, he began firing dark Thundaga at both of them! Roxas had no time to react as he was hit by one! "GAH!" Aqua managed to create a barrier around herself, but Roxas was still hit. Vanitas smirked as he dived down at Roxas, who gasped at seeing the masked boy coming down at him! Roxas quickly blocked his Void Gear from hitting him with his Oblivion, but he was still sent to the ground from the force of the attack.

Vanitas leaned in while Roxas was trapped underneath him, whispering, "I suppose you're too _scared_ to use your other Keyblade, eh Roxy? That pipsqueak's been nothing but a bad influence on you, you know…" Before Roxas could react, he jumped off, firing a Dark Firaga at Aqua as he did. "After all, you used to fight much more aggressively than that."

Roxas glared as he stood up, growling out, "How about you _stop talking_!?" The angry Nobody slid across the dirt as he kicked Vanitas's gut and then used Oblivion to hit him in a combo. "THUNDER!" He also zapped him with a lightning spell, setting Vanitas's 'skirt' on fire.

Vanitas grunted in pain, but he laughed slightly, firing off a Dark Blizzaga. "Not bad, not bad- you're getting more ruthless again, Roxas! Finally, you're becoming the opponent you were when we first met again!"

This made Roxas hesitate, and Aqua jumped in between them and fired three fireballs in succession. "FIRE!" Then she turned to Roxas. "Don't stop, we have to keep fighting!"

"I-I know but…" Roxas wasn't sure if he wanted to keep fighting, what if he ended up fighting as ruthless as Ven had feared?

"Too slow." Vanitas teased as he teleported above them! Roxas and Aqua didn't have time to react as he slammed his Void Gear into the ground, causing both of them to stumble back and separate. Vanitas seemed to focus more of his mocking tones at Roxas than at Aqua, like he's _trying_ to make him mad and riled up.

Roxas twitched, growing angrier at the masked boy in front of him… the one who snapped Ven's wooden Keyblade, the one who had done _everything_ to make everyone else miserable… "Will you stop messing with other people's lives!?" he snapped, firing off a Blizzaga.

Vanitas hummed thoughtfully, easily evading the giant ice ball as he teleported behind Roxas and kicked him. "How about no? After all, _you_ do it just as well as I do, if not more- what makes _me_ the bad guy here, then?"

"What are you talking about!? I didn't do anything wrong! I didn't summon Unversed to _attack_ people!" Roxas snapped at him as he began swinging his Oblivion at Vanitas in a frenzy before he kicked the masked boy's leg to keep him from teleporting away again and hitting him with another combo strike.

Aqua noticed Roxas's fighting skill had gotten faster but more aggressive too, she frowned at this but she didn't break her concentration. "THUNDER!" She summoned a huge lightning bolt to strike at Vanitas after he jumped away from Roxas, then she placed Mine Field around her.

Vanitas smirked, though, dodging the lightning. "Maybe not, but at least _I_ don't invade three good friends' lives and make yourself a part of them! Think about it- who else would do that so well?"

Roxas charged at Vanitas again, both of them parrying each other. Roxas was trying to keep his cool, but it was next to impossible with this guy constantly talking and making him doubt more and more about himself.

Vanitas kept them at a stalemate however, stomping on Roxas's foot as he continued. "But my problem is, you're stronger than that pipsqueak could _ever_ be- and you're just wasting it, hiding it from those who'd fear you if you revealed it!"

"You know_ nothing_ about me, Vanitas!" Roxas hissed. "In fact, one of them already _knows_ about my 'special' ability! And maybe he's just the one I need to defeat you!" He jumped away from Vanitas at that, digging out his Wayfinder.

Aqua's eyes widened, recognizing what he was about to do. _He knows about them too? No way… Who's he going to call upon?_

Roxas gripped the Wayfinder in his hand before he tried to sense Terra's link… and he found it. "Terra!" he called as the Wayfinder glowed in his hand and he glowed a bit of brown for a second or two, feeling Terra's power flowing through him.

Aqua gasped, her eyes wide in shock. "No way…" she murmured. _When did he make a D-Link with Terra? And… why isn't he using Ven, or somebody else's D-Link instead?_

"Ah, so you forged a D-Link with Terra, huh?" Vanitas said with a teasing tone.

Roxas glared as he charged forward with Oblivion. He was feeling like his body had gotten stronger, it was like Terra was right there beside him, guiding his Keyblade to its mark. "SHUT UP!"

He slammed Oblivion right into Vanitas's chest, sending the masked boy flying into the air, and he gasped in pain. _W-what the…? He's… almost as powerful now… as when he was fighting with _two_… _Unseen by anyone, a smirk began to emerge on Vanitas's face. _Interesting… I wonder if he'll use another ability when I go for my own strength…_

Aqua gasped, seeing Vanitas flying into the air. "R-Roxas, why'd you send him into the air instead of into a tent or something?"

"So I can do _this_!" Roxas then threw the black Keyblade at Vanitas, using Strike Raid again, showing no mercy as the Keyblade smacked the masked boy in the air. "Take THAT!" Then he finished it off with a powerful Thunder attack.

Aqua's eyes widened, seeing the masked man not moving. "R-Roxas, what were you _thinking_!? He could be-" A dark aura suddenly surrounded Vanitas, stopping what she was saying in her tracks. _He's still alive!?_

Vanitas laughed, slowly standing up. "Not bad, not bad at all- even with _one_ Keyblade, you're still just as strong as before, Roxy- with Terra's help, of course. But… my own Command Style will make it that much harder for you." He held up his Keyblade, taunting Roxas once more. "Come on… Fight me while I'm using my Command Style: Dark Impulse!"

_Oh come ON! Does EVERY Keyblade Wielder know how to use a Command Style but ME!?_ Roxas thought angrily to himself, and he felt the D-Link with Terra starting to wear off, he only had about a few minutes left with it before it disappears._ Ugh, just peachy- I have to fight him while I have no D-Link too!_

Aqua frowned worriedly before she held up her own Wayfinder. _I have to help… _"Ven!" she cried out, and she glowed green for a moment before dashing forward, slashing at Vanitas with all her might. "HYAH!"

Roxas was surprised to see how fast Aqua was attacking, it was like she tripled her speed in a matter of seconds. _I think she's using Ven's D-Link…_ Roxas thought to himself.

However, after a few hits, Vanitas pushed her away with a dark powered up version of Dark Firaga, causing her to hit the tent nearby. Roxas couldn't help but notice that this spike in darkness felt similar to whenever Terra's darkness would spike, and he remembered when he fought with Terra, when he thought it was Xemnas, that it increases his power and speed. _That… is NOT a good sign!_

Vanitas chuckled darkly, pointing his Void Gear right at Roxas. "Well, since she's out of the way… what do you say about picking up right where we left off back in the forest? Come on- what are you, a faceless coward? Hiding behind others for assistance?"

Roxas glared as he shook his head, holding his Keyblade just a bit tighter. "I won't let you hurt Aqua. Tell me… why are you _here_, Vanitas? You know Ven isn't here, right?" The Nobody could already feel the D-Link dissipating, he was on his own again.

Vanitas chuckled darkly, beginning to walk towards the Nobody. "Two reasons… One, the one the old man seems to find the most important, is cleaning up a certain feminine loose end- and the other?" He smirked, suddenly charging right at Roxas. "Is YOU!" He slashed at the blond-haired boy, but they both were locked in a stalemate for power this time, if not for much longer.

Roxas was getting desperate, he's using some of his Limit Break ability to put in some power into his Keyblade. Oblivion was glowing with his light energy, and because of this he was able to parry with Vanitas's Keyblade despite it being powered up with Dark Impulse. "You just wanted a good fight with me again? _That's_ why you're here?!"

Vanitas chuckled, kicking on Roxas's stomach and sending the boy flying back! "That's_ my_ most personal reason- so why are you denying me a good fight, eh Roxas? We both know you can be stronger… Come on- make me sweat! If you want to protect your 'friend', you'd better do much more than you are right now."

"Don't count Aqua out of this fight just because you got a lucky strike on her!" Roxas snapped at him.

"That's right, I'm not out yet." Aqua spoke up as she landed beside him.

Roxas smiled at her, giving a thumbs up. "Good for you to join us, lovely lady."

"Hey, I had to recover. Now what's this about not using your full powers?" Aqua asked.

"Never you mind about that, Vanitas just wants to make me angry so I'd fight harder." Roxas answered almost right away.

Vanitas paused, as if surprised, before he began to laugh. "Oh, this is rich- you honestly think that _this_ is the extent of his powers? Well, I suppose you always _were_ naive, Aqua…" He spun his Keyblade around, aiming it at Aqua. "You should _know_ better by now… After all, your friend Terra found out long before you did."

"What?" Aqua frowned, confused but suspicious.

"Don't listen to him Aqua, he's just trying to play mind games with us." Roxas said to her. "We have to stay focused!" _Figures he'd know Terra found out, I do believe _he_ was the one that made me think Terra was Xemnas at the time!_

Vanitas chuckled, sounding amused and keeping his Keyblade trained on Aqua. "Oh- did he never tell you of how we first met? Or who figured out his 'hidden talents' first? I wonder why…"

"Vanitas! Just shut up!" Roxas snapped. "Aqua already knows I can fight with a Keyblade!" he tried to hit Vanitas, but the masked boy teleported suddenly and slammed his Keyblade behind the Nobody. "Gah!" Roxas gripped his Oblivion tighter as he whirled it around to smack Vanitas from behind as a counter.

Vanitas merely teleported again, slamming Roxas to the ground. "Oh, but does she know about _everything_ else, Roxas? Tell me, Aqua… do you remember the Dwarf Woodlands, and the forest that surrounds a tiny little cottage?"

Aqua frowned, but she remembered coming to a specific spot in the woods. "... There was one place that looked burned down, almost like a big battle took place there… I thought it was odd in such a peaceful place."

Roxas was trying to get up from the ground, but the masked boy was just pressing his Keyblade against the Nobody's neck. "Vanitas! Get off me!"

"Hmm… you don't seem to listen, do you?" Vanitas shook his head in mock disappointment before turning to Aqua. "Well, then- seems like you came across our… _meeting_ _ground_\- imagine my surprise, to find a cloaked figure, one who had more power than I had thought when first challenging him!"

"...A cloaked figure…?" Aqua looked down at the struggling Roxas.

"A-Aqua… you know… when you see… a friend in danger… shouldn't you… oh I don't know… HELP HIM!?" Roxas shouted up to her.

Aqua frowned, feeling more than a little conflicted here. _…H-he's right… I want to know what Vanitas means… but he could be lying… I… can't believe I'm about to do this… _Before Vanitas could react, she suddenly charged him, forcing him to jump off of Roxas as she slammed her Keyblade into his mask! "Get _away_ from him!" she demanded, resisting the urge to shudder at how dishonorable that had been. _Ugh… I didn't have a choice…_

Roxas stood up, rubbing his neck and the small bruise that was there. "Thanks Aqua… Now we better finish this before he finishes _us_."

Vanitas just let out a laugh before he walked towards them as if what Aqua did didn't faze him at all. "I'm only looking to battle against the Roxas I met back in those woods, and in order to bring him out, I may have to take drastic measures."

"No! You just stop your crazy idea right now!" Roxas snapped, getting in front of Aqua as if trying to protect her from any harm Vanitas concocted in that twisted mind of his.

The boy merely laughed darkly. "Oh? Well, too bad- it seems I'm ready to perform a finisher." Before either Roxas or Aqua could comprehend what he just said, he turned into darkness and vanished into the floor!

Roxas gasped as he turned to Aqua, frowning worriedly. "Quick, we need to fly! Get off the ground now!" The Nobody was frantic, he could sense the powerful darkness, one swipe of that, and either one of them could end up dead, and Vanitas was most likely aiming at Aqua.

Aqua blinked in surprise, caught off-guard. "W-what? What do you mean by that? He's just about to-"

Roxas shook his head, glancing around worriedly. "GET OFF THE GROUND NOW!" The blue-haired girl frowned, but before either of them could react, Vanitas emerged from the ground and slammed into… Roxas!? The Nobody could only gasp as he was flung into the sky before landing on the ground with a hard THUD!

Vanitas chuckled darkly, shaking his head in disappointment. "You shouldn't have made yourself such an obvious target, Roxas… You were smarter than this back in that forest- why go after the weaker Keyblade bearer?"

"ROXAS!" Aqua yelled in concern for him. Vanitas just gave an annoyed grunt at her as he slammed his Keyblade into her side while she was too distracted with worry for him.

"Just simply pathetic." Vanitas grumbled. "Both of you have gotten so _weak_ in the past few days, just playing with _children_."

Roxas was giving him a glare, because of his previous battles with Xehanort, this attack didn't knock him out. He grunted, slowly standing up and leaning against a wall. The Nobody didn't heal himself though- instead, he opted to take another option first. "Limit… Break…!"

Faster than the eyes could see, Roxas's Oblivion transformed into a blade of light as he began comboing at Vanitas like a madman! Even someone as fast as Vanitas couldn't block or dodge all those attacks, and then Roxas floated up as he summoned 13 pillars of light, each one scrambled around before they hit the masked boy with devastating power- especially since he was using Dark Impulse, it was weak to light attribute attacks.

Vanitas yelled in pain, hitting the ground even harder than Roxas had. "G-gah… Heh… Hahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He started laughing, putting both Roxas and Aqua on edge. "_AHAHAHAHAHA_! Oh… _There's_ the Roxas I fought in the woods…" He slowly stood up, grunting in pain. "Heh… Not… gah… Not bad… Not bad at all…"

Roxas glared, his body aching and his magic drained from that Limit Break. _He's weak… so why does it feel like this battle isn't over yet? … Where's… Aqua?_

Vanitas smirked, leaning himself against a totem pole. "You know… even when all this is done… I might have just kept you around, for fun… It's not like many people would be able to keep up with me at that point…" Then, to Roxas's shock, he began to heal himself with the darkness! "But… if I do… then you'll be able to stop me before I can cause enough damage." When he was healthy enough to walk over to Roxas without falling on himself, he summoned his Void Gear and shambled over to the fallen Nobody. "You were a good opponent…" He kicked away Oblivion, leaning down to mutter to Roxas, "Too bad you're too worried about what others think to use your other Keyblade- it might have saved you…" And with that, he slashed down with his Void Gear, aiming right at Roxas's neck! "Goodbye!"

* * *

As if in slow motion, Roxas's eyes widened- he could hear a heart beating, not entirely sure if it was his own, and all survival instincts went into overdrive, overriding his sense of logic and fear… no more holding back. Roxas's hands, almost as if by themselves, rose up as if to try and block the incoming death blade.

"_ROXAS_!" Aqua called as she was trying to run over towards them, fearing for the younger boy's life, but she wasn't going to make it in time.

CLANG! A sound of metal hitting each other. Aqua stopped as her eyes widened in shock. Vanitas, however, was grinning under his mask. In Roxas's hand was his Oathkeeper Keyblade, and it had stopped Void Gear from delivering a fatal blow. Aqua was looking back and forth between Oathkeeper in Roxas's hands and Oblivion that was on the floor, how could both Keyblades exist at one time?

"...Heh…" Vanitas smirked to himself, slowly pulling away from Roxas. "Well, well, well… look who _finally_ decided to show his full hand."

Roxas slowly stumbled himself up. The boy weakly held out his other hand, re-summoning Oblivion to his side. Now the Nobody held two Keyblades in both hands.

Aqua fell to her knees, but she barely felt it, still trying to register what she saw before her. _He… he has…_ two_ Keyblades… in his hands…? H… how? How is that… possible? …Is… is _this_ what Vanitas meant before… about Roxas having so much power?_

Vanitas laughed gleefully. "There we go!"

Roxas glared as he charged at Vanitas, dragging his two Keyblades on the ground before he swung them at the masked boy. Vanitas reacted quickly as he slammed Void Gear at Oathkeeper, but the dual wielder used Oblivion to strike at him! Vanitas hissed as he was hit and quickly teleported away. Roxas hissed as he stumbled a bit, still very weak.

Vanitas panted a bit himself, but he gave a smirk and slowly stepped back. "It looks like you're finally stepping out of your own shadow, Roxas- good for you, I'll have a worthy opponent for my moment of triumph!" He gestured with his free hand, and a Corridor of Darkness appeared right behind him, on the floor. "Well then… I believe I've caused enough chaos for now… besides, I'm not going to fight you when we're both barely able to stand…" He smirked, and Roxas's eyes widened as his mask began to melt at the mouth, letting the Nobody see him mouth the next few words, "I'll see you at the Keyblade Graveyard, Roxas…" before falling back into his escape route.

Now Roxas was left with Aqua… who had seen him with dual wielded the Keyblades… _Why does this always happen to _me_? _Was his last thought before falling to the ground, unconscious and with his Keyblades both disappearing.

* * *

**Key2DestNE: So, not bad, huh? I hope you all liked that little tidbit into Roxas and Aqua's relationship! And look at that, another Vanitas/Roxas/Aqua fight, how crazy is that~? ….. *yanks his 3DS out of Fox's hands, AGAIN, and puts it in a safe* Author's Note. NOW. Games. LATER.**

**DarkFoxKit: *hisses as her claws were ready to slash some flesh, but she held back and gave a smile to the camera* Hey readers. Um… oh yeah, looks like Roxas just accidentally revealed his duel wielding ability to Aqua. Now I don't want to hear 'but Roxas should've just summoned the Keyblade he lost to protect him instead of summoning the other one'- when you're about to die, you don't really think about what you're doing, just that you had to defend yourself.**

**Key2DestNE: Plus, resummoning a Keyblade takes energy and more than a millisecond, something Roxas didn't exactly have in spades when his life flashed before his eyes like that. Now then, on- … *yanks away his OTHER 3DS, shoving that into the safe too* ONTO THE REVIEWS!**

**DarkFoxKit: I'll have you know that I can think better while playing video games! Hmph! *begins looking at the scripts of reviews.***

**Key2DestNE: … *points at one* Ahem… Antex, I'm glad you loved the moment of Roxas remembering little Xi-Xi- it was pretty powerful, if I do say so myself~ And… *whispers* I agree with you- Roxas is best with Xion!**

**DarkFoxKit: Catloverx33, yes, we all are glad that they made up. It would've sucked if they didn't.**

**Key2DestNE: And also that Xion was remembered, don't forget that! *shoves the Wii U into the safe as Fox tries to play it* FlightfootKeyseeker, of course we referenced the manga- who do you think we are, amateurs?**

**DarkFoxKit: And Roxas's heart being formed by shards of Ven, Vanitas and Sora's hearts is a very… interesting theory. And I am Shibuya's Composer… you… ship us…? *looks at Key***

**Key2DestNE: … *whistles, looking away innocently* …. *cough* Key2Kitten *cough* I ship it too *cough* AND YES ROXAS REMEMBERS XION, THAT'S WHAT I LOVED TOO. :3**

**DarkFoxKit: And I told ya you'd be crying with Roxas! And I think this chapter just answered your question with his duel wielding being revealed, at least to Aqua now.**

**Key2DestNE: KPGirl1227- I like your name, by the way, I'll call you, maybe beep you if I wanna reach you- the story is NOT almost over. We still got 9 chapters left, but it's gonna start winding down a bit. As for your theory… well, it's a good one, but we're not telling just yet~ Ven's sucking thing… weeeell… we kinda put that in as a hint to what happened with Xion. She DID get some stuff from him, remember~?**

**DarkFoxKit: lala32903, well he's not giving ME back MY 3DS! And to answer your question, yes, Lea/Axel will explain it later. And yes, it'll be revealed how Roxas got the wayfinder.**

**Key2DestNE: Hey, don't worry dude- we're not gonna leave you hanging! Happyperson, I think we'd ALL want this fanfic to be an actual KH game… We mainly just took it from our own inspiration, along with the idea of what'd happen if Roxas and Ven ever met up, and we just… rolled with it after testing it out a bit. *shrugs* That's pretty much the Key2Kitten style!**

**DarkFoxKit: I am NOT a kitten! I am a fox! And anyways! somebodyelse13, all I'm going to say is, if he ever does, it'll be quite a shocker for the three. And Speculator, thank you for your support, and it was a pretty nice Thanksgiving weekend.**

**Key2DestNE: But yeah, we might have Roxas battling the secret bosses, we might not. It all depends on how far we goooo~ *winks mysteriously* Until then, we-**

**DarkFoxKit: It also depends on if we can squeeze it into the story, there is no aftergame for Roxas here after all. Now then… Key… give me the 3DS, NOW!**

**Key2DestNE: No way! *huffs, pouting stubbornly* You still have to close out the AN before you get Smash or Pokemon back!**

**DarkFoxKit: … I was playing your Omega Ruby, getting you that Elegant Desk you wanted- I didn't save yet and the batteries are about to die… oh well, I guess you can get those 8000 ashes yourself. Okay readers, we're done here, I am Dark-**

**Key2DestNE: ...WHAT!? YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THAT! *quickly opens the safe and pulls out the 3DS* …Wait a second, this isn't-**

**DarkFoxKit: *snatches the 3DS from him* I am DarkFoxKit, that's Key2DestNE and we look forward to hearing from you, bye!**

**Key2DestNE: HEY, YOU CHEATED! *huffs, pouting***

**DarkFoxKit: No I didn't, I just tricked you~ Oh, and the Elegant Desk is already in your PC anyway. Now readers, please review, we'd be very happy to hear from you.**


	18. Chapter 17: Master and Student

**DarkFoxKit: Hmm… *was looking nervous* You ever had one of those days, where a friend you made in school and hadn't seen in years suddenly finds you and you're not sure what to say?**

**Key2DestNE: Yeaaah, she's kinda having one of those now… *sweatdrops* Still, we've got another chapter for you all! Last one was a bit of a cliffhanger, which as you know is one of our staples… but this time I think you guys will enjoy it- we're beginning to wrap up this series, so we're gonna head off to a little island you all know and love~**

**DarkFoxKit: Yup! So for those who were wondering if Roxas will go to Destiny Islands, here is your answer! Okay Key, it's your turn to do the disclaimer.**

**Key2DestNE: Aww, I always do it though… *pouts, but sighs* Well, we don't own Kingdom Hearts or Disney- that's Square Enix and, well, Disney, so good luck trying to make this an actual game. ...Seriously, please try doing it.**

**DarkFoxKit: Read last chapter. Sorry readers, guess we're just a little on edge tonight, just go ahead and read.**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Master and Student**

_I'm dead… I am so dead. There's no sugar coating it- Aqua just saw me wield two Keyblades, I'm so freaking dead! … Hey, is this… the dream's gotten a lot more solid lately, it almost looks like… some kind of… island… Hey! Voice in my head! I'm going to die! HELP!_

"_Heh…" The voice chuckled for a bit. Why is he laughing!? "You're not going to die, Roxas… You'll be fine…"_

"_This is _not_ funny!" I shouted, outraged by his calmness and chuckling voice. "Aqua knows! SHE FREAKING KNOWS! Do you know what this means!? I just blown up the universe!"_

"_She may question how you have two Keyblades… but you'll be fine, okay? The universe is safe…"_

"_How can you be so calm!?" I was pacing on the sand. "This is bad… She's gonna ask me questions, I can't answer them, she'll be so mad… she'll never trust me again! Especially after she saw how I was fighting! She looked as upset about it as Ven did! And she's an official Keyblade Master! They can DO things to people!" I hissed that last part, completely freaking out._

"_Do things? She isn't the boogeyman, Roxas… besides, she may be upset about it, but you'll just have to explain a bit more… you'll be just fine!"_

_I then noticed that his voice sounded a lot clearer now, like he can speak without pausing in between so much. "... You seem awfully sure about that. But I think Aqua will just… I don't think she'll ever forgive me." There's something about his voice…_

"_Roxas… she _will_ forgive you- she'll be upset, but give her a minute or two to accept this, and you'll be fine. She isn't as harsh as Master Eraqus…"_

"_A minute? I'm unconscious, it could be _hours_ until I wake up again." I sighed. "And by then she'll probably come to her own conclusions. I don't know what to say… I_ can't_ tell her the truth…"_

"_Oh? Why not? Because you're from the future? Roxas, if anything, she'd be _more_ understanding… she knows responsibilities better than anybody else, and how tough they can be."_

"_... But the first major rule in time travel is to never, ever, admit you're from another time period. It could disrupt everything." I said worriedly, and well… Pence told me about that since he likes to watch a lot of sc-fis according to my fake life memory, and honestly I didn't want to take any chances. "I don't know… I can't just tell her… I haven't even told Ven or Terra yet- heck, Ven is the _only one_ left who doesn't know I can dual wield."_

"_Well… do what you feel is right- but remember… No matter what, in the end everything will be fine…"_

"_Why do you always say that? I don't understand why you're so sure everything's going to turn out okay. You almost make it sound like you were there or something." I said, rolling my eyes. "... Wait… were you?"_

"_I was. Roxas…" The voice hesitated. "...I'm glad we got to know each other- even if it was for a few weeks…"_

_I blinked at that… but then I thought the voice just meant that it's been a few weeks since he sent me back in time. "Well we haven't really been able to talk much…"_

_The voice chuckled at that, as if I was being funny again. "Maybe you don't think so… but I'm glad we met. Even if it was the weirdest way possible… it just makes you all the more memorable to me."_

"_Why are you talking like you knew me on a more personal level?" I asked, growing more and more confused. "... Please, tell me who you are… I have to know."_

"_..."_

"_Please… can't you tell me?"_

"_...Roxas… just remember…" The voice was getting softer again, and I felt myself beginning to float! "This… will not… change history… Roxas…"_

* * *

Roxas slowly opened his eyes, he felt he was lying on something soft but he couldn't tell what. His eyes were still blurry as he tried to open them. finally he managed to regain his sight. "... Ugh… A-Aqua?"

The Keyblade Master sighed in relief, holding his head in her lap. "Oh, you're finally awake. You were really worrying me, Roxas… how do you feel?" Even though she was acting motherly again, he noticed a small confused glint in her eye, trying to hide her reaction to Roxas's abilities.

The Nobody looked around, seeing they were still on the island, but what was he lying on? It didn't feel like a rock, sand or grass… "My entire body is sore…"

Aqua nodded, frowning in concern. "I know… just give me a moment to finish healing you, and we can help you get to your feet." Roxas blinked, just noticing her hands were glowing green as they healed the damage on the young Nobody.

It was then Roxas noticed that his head was lying on Aqua's lap while she was healing his body. _…Why would she let me lay on her lap? I thought she doesn't trust me anymore after… what happened… I'm sure she's confused and the questions will start soon. What… CAN I say? _"Um… how bad is it?" Roxas asked, mostly asking about how bad the damage was to Aqua's mind after seeing his dual wielding ability, but Aqua assumed he meant his body.

The blue-haired woman sighed, looking Roxas's body over. "Well… it's better now, but honestly, you're still going to feel sore until we get you to a healing spot, Roxas…" _It's a lot better compared to how he was before, though… So many broken bones, and he might even have bled out from internal injuries if I hadn't been casting Curaga on him like this!_

Roxas sighed, shaking his head. "... Thanks, but… that wasn't what I meant…" He slowly tried to get up, but Aqua pulled him back down, surprising him. "H-huh?"

"Don't get up, you're still hurt and I'm not done." Aqua said firmly, her expression leaving no room for argument.

"..." The Nobody wondered why she was still so caring to him considering how much he had lied and hidden from her… "Aqua… why are you healing me? … I lied to you and I kept so much hidden from you…"

Aqua sighed, shaking her head. "Roxas… I… I may not like that you lied to me… but…" She gave a warm, if small, smile. "You're still my friend… I should have taken that into consideration…" _Just like I should have with Terra… What was I _thinking_, worrying so much about him falling to darkness? He's safe… he's always trying to take care of Ven, just like I am…_

"...You still consider me a friend?" Roxas asked, blinking in surprise. _Vanitas was right before… I shouldn't have invaded their lives and made myself a part of it… it'll only make things harder._

Aqua nodded, still giving a small smile. "Of course… I don't know you as well as Terra and Ven, but… you're still a good friend- and I doubt that you'd hide anything from me without a good reason…" _And my reaction to… to his new ability showed that… If he had showed me, I probably would have been in disbelief, no matter what…_

"... I guess I was wrong about you…" Roxas said, surprising Aqua. "All this time, I kept telling myself if you ever found out, you wouldn't ever forgive me for it. I was scared… not a lot of people really knows about my… _unique ability_."

Aqua frowned, slowly nodding. "I guess I can understand that… I can imagine that it was hard for your Master to train you, since you always had two Keyblades instead of-"

"Aqua…" Roxas suddenly said, interrupting her. "... First of all, I didn't always have two Keyblades… I only had one before… let's just say it happened because of certain circumstances, very _complicated_ circumstances… and second…" He took a breath, as if hesitating to tell her. "... I… never had a Keyblade Master to teach me anything… I was… self taught, and I only got stronger because I had to fight to survive… that's why I battle the way I do. My so-called 'master' just lets me go out and fight."

Aqua's eyes widened in shock at the second bit of news, trying to take that in as well. _…W-what? He… he didn't have a Master? _That's_ why he fights as hard as he can- because he was never taught any better?_ Roxas gulped, noticing one of her hands curled into a fist. "...Well then…" She gave a confident, if slightly strained, smile. "There's no time like the present, is there?"

"...Huh?" Roxas blinked, not getting what she meant. Worried she might be angry at him, he hastily said, "I-I'm sorry Aqua, I knew I should've told you sooner but-"

Aqua suddenly stood up, making Roxas fall off her lap. "Roxas… you may not have had a Keyblade Master before, but right now, I would like to teach you how to fight like a _true_ Keyblade Wielder. Would you accept me as your teacher, just for a day or two?"

Roxas looked up at her as if trying to process what she just said. "... What? You're… going to… teach _me_?" _I don't understand… why? _"Can you even do that?"

Aqua nodded, smiling determinedly. "Well, if you don't have your own Master… I'll teach you what you don't already know- I don't have my own student, either, so this would be a learning experience for both of us. But I can only do that if you let me- so will you be my temporary student, Roxas?"

"...So you're_ not _mad that I've been keeping my skills and abilities a secret?" Roxas asked her, still coming to terms with what she just asked. "I-I mean, I've been telling you that I was just a _normal_ boy when we first met…"

Aqua shook her head, still smiling. "Well… I'm surprised that you're able to use two Keyblades, but I can accept it- we all have our things to hide, I suppose." Then she frowned a bit, crossing her arms. "So… will you take me as your Master for a few days or not, Roxas?"

The young Nobody looked down for a moment as if trying to decide. _… Should I accept her proposal? I mean, it would have its benefits, I can learn how to use the Shotlocks better, and maybe I can learn how to use a Command Style so I'm not always at a disadvantage. But… is it really okay? I mean… could a Keyblade Master just take in a Nobody as a student? … Aqua seems pretty serious about it. I guess maybe a few days can't hurt. _"It might be a good experience for the both of us… so yeah, I'd like to learn more about the Keyblade. It's always been a mystery to me. But how are you going to teach me? Aren't we still on a journey?" Roxas couldn't help but notice Aqua's eyes lighting up after he said 'yes' to her.

The blue-haired Keyblade Master nodded, her smile relaxing into an eager grin. "Well, I believe we could stay at the next world we come to- just long enough to teach you how to use a Command Style, and smooth out your rough edges slightly. You're already powerful- we just have to help you learn more about how to use your abilities better."

"That would be nice, Aqua, thank you." Roxas nodded to her as she activated her armor.

* * *

"We're going to need to get you your own armor before I can teach you how to use the Keyblade Glider." Aqua said thoughtfully as she picked him up onto her glider.

Roxas gave a daydreaming smile, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Heh, never thought I'd ever get my own armor."

"You know, Ven said the same thing when he kept asking Master Eraqus for his armor." Aqua chuckled, looking back at him.

"He did…?" Roxas frowned at another similarity between them. "... So what world are we going to?"

Aqua shrugged, both of them flying through the Lanes Between. "I suppose we'll land on the next world we- ...Hmm?" She blinked, seeing a bright light slowly come into view in front of them. "...Roxas, do you see that?" _What is this?_

"Yes… I see it…" Roxas spoke in a relaxed manner, surprising Aqua. _This feels… so familiar… it's almost like… Xion and someone else are calling to me… Am I using the Corridor of Darkness subconsciously? … No… this isn't darkness… what is it?_

The light continued to grow brighter and brighter, until finally, a world appeared. Aqua blinked, surprised. _…Some islands? Huh… _"Well, I suppose we're landing here, Roxas." She flew down into the world, not noticing Roxas was still lingering on that happy feeling.

When the armor disappeared on both of them, they began walking around, exploring the world. Aqua wondered what brought them there, but Roxas was staring out at sea as if recalling some pleasant memories for a change. The Nobody looked down at the seashells as he picked one up that looked similar to the one Xion left behind after… their fight. Roxas held onto to it as he turned around.

"...Huh?" Roxas's eyes suddenly went wide as he felt that strong urge, that connection before he fell into this time period. _Sora? Wha- is this _his_ home world?_

Aqua blinked as well, noticing a nearby tree. "...Roxas?" She glanced at him, giving a small smile. "Remember the Wayfinders I made? Well, they're based on a fruit on a certain world- and I think we've landed on it." _Terra… Ven… I hope you're ready for the storm that's coming. I'm going to prepare Roxas, but you two stay safe for now._

"Yeah, Destiny Islands." Roxas said softly as he walked around before seeing two familiar boys racing across the sand. The time traveler stopped when he noticed their faces… _Riku? … Sora? This must be them 11 years ago._

Aqua blinked, glancing over at the boys as well. Riku was beating Sora in their 'race', as proven when Riku called back to his friend. "Too slow, Sora- see you at the finish line!"

"No fair Riku! You had a head start!" the younger Sora complained, panting when he finally caught up to the waiting Riku. "C'mon, one more time- you just got lucky!" Then he paused, noticing Riku was staring at Aqua and Roxas. "...Huh?" He blinked, glancing up at the two Keyblade Wielders.

Roxas felt nervous and out of place here, with those two kids staring at them. It just felt so _wrong_ to him. Sora shouldn't be seeing him, not here, not now, in fact, he tried to scoot himself behind Aqua.

Aqua, however, felt a connection to these two boys. _…Could it be?_ She slowly walked closer, before hopping down next to the two boys, dragging Roxas along with her. Sora yelped in surprise before sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. She smiled slightly, glancing at Riku. _This boy, he looks so sincere- just like Terra._ Then she giggled, glancing over at the smiling Sora. _And he looks like the spitting image of Ven!_

Aqua noticed Roxas was trying to hide behind her, and she rolled her eyes in amusement, nudging him. "Oh come on Roxas, don't be so shy! They're not going to bite you."

Roxas bit his lip, wishing she hadn't just said his name in front of them. The boy from the future gave a very nervous wave and a strained smile, speaking up softly. "U-uh… h-hello…" _What does one say to their younger original self? This is so wrong… Ugh…_

Aqua shook her head, sighing bemusedly. _I dunno what's with him, but one of these boys might be special enough. _"Hey, what are your names?"

"I'm Riku." Riku answered simply.

"My name's Sora!" Sora said happily, grinning widely.

Roxas almost yelped when he saw how close the younger Sora was to him. It was as if Sora was drawn to him. "H-hey, uh… why don't you just stay beside Riku?"

Sora frowned curiously, looking Roxas over. "You look… like someone I've seen before, I think, but I'm not sure how."

Aqua blinked, confused by that, before she shook her head. _Somebody's already given Riku the power to wield a Keyblade... was it Terra? _"Sora, do you like Riku?"

"Of course! He's my best friend!" Sora spoke up as if saying the sky was blue.

"Well, Sora, if Riku ever gets lost along the way, or if he begins to walk down a dark path alone, can I count on you to help bring him back?" Aqua gently asked the little boy.

"Sure, I promise to always help Riku!" Sora answered cheerfully, even though it was clear he didn't understand what Aqua meant.

Roxas couldn't help but find this whole thing ironic. _Riku, the guy who gave himself to darkness just to capture me, so he can help Sora wake up. I can see a lot of loyalty between these two._

Riku chuckled, glancing at Sora. "Hey, Sora, you wanna race back to the pier? Loser has to tie the boat up when we get back!"

"Aww, but you always win!" Sora whined.

"Well you should of been running instead of complaining then!" Riku smirked as he took off suddenly, rushing towards the pier.

"H-hey! No fair!" Sora yelled as he ran after his best friend. "You got a head start again!"

Aqua giggled at the two boys, before she frowned a bit, glancing at the sea. "...Roxas… I was going to give one of those boys a Keyblade, but I could tell Riku has already received the power to wield one when he's older." She shook her head, frowning softly. "And one Keyblade is enough for _any_ friendship." _I learned it the hard way- I wouldn't want to wish our lives on those children…_

* * *

"Huh? What do you mean by that Aqua?" Roxas asked, not understanding what she meant. "You're saying one of them is _going_ to get a Keyblade? How do you even know?"

Aqua paused, glancing at Roxas in confusion. "...What do you mean? You haven't heard of the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony?" _…Come to think of it… _"How did you get _your_ Keyblade, Roxas?"

Roxas sighed, shrugging. "I told you before, didn't I? I've always had the Keyblade beside me. I don't know how I got it or why it chose me, just that I've always had it as far back as I can remember." _I think Ven mentioned something like a ceremony but he didn't really explain it much._

"..." Aqua frowned at that, crossing her arms thoughtfully. "Roxas, most people have to receive a ceremony- they inherit the Keyblade from a previous Master, passing on their legacy. You touch the Keyblade and you say a special phrase- then, if they have a strong enough heart, one day they will hold a Keyblade of their own."

"A ceremony…" Roxas began frowning. "I never got any ceremonies…" _Well I'm a Nobody, so of course I wouldn't… _"...So, uh… which one got the inheritance and by whom?"

Aqua shrugged, turning to stare back at the sea. "That boy, Riku, received a Keyblade, but as for who gave it to him… I can't say for sure- but I think it may have been Terra." _Terra… what's to become of us? Do we really have to fight? Even though we're on the same side?_

"Terra? …" Roxas looked at Aqua, frowning in confusion. "And he did it to Riku? … So… why didn't you do it to Sora too?"

"..." Aqua reached down, slowly pulling out her blue Wayfinder. "I… I didn't want those two to fight. Not like Terra and I have- we're like dysfunctional siblings at times." She sighed, slowly putting the Wayfinder back in her pocket. "I don't want it to be the same for those two boys- not when they're close friends like that."

"...Something tells me that's not going to be the case…" Roxas said softly. _They DID fight. In my memories, they fought a lot, and Riku took Sora's Keyblade, claiming it was originally his. Now, seeing what happened here, that made sense! But wait… if Aqua never performed the ceremony on Sora, then did Ven do it? I mean, he _must_ have, right? How else could Sora possibly wield the Keyblade and have it passed down to me? Or did I screw something up?_

As if to make sure, Roxas summoned his Kingdom Keyblade to his hand. Yup, still there… so why does he even have it in the first place? As far as the future boy is concerned, this Keyblade in his hand shouldn't even _exist_ right now.

Aqua blinked, glancing back at Roxas in surprise. "..." She smiled softly, summoning her own Keyblade. "Right… time to train you, Roxas. So… what would you like to learn first? Command Styles, practicing your Shotlock, or smoothing out your Keyblade styles?"

"Um…" Roxas was still checking over his Keyblade, as if trying to see if it was real or maybe another copy like Xion's apparently was. "Uh… I'll let you decide, Aqua." he sounded distracted, still staring at the Keyblade in his hand in wonder.

The blue-haired woman blinked in confusion, but she quickly realized what he was thinking. _He's wondering about how he has a Keyblade if he never had a ceremony._ "Why not start with learning how to make and use your own Command Style?"

"Command Style… isn't that a little too advanced for me?" Roxas asked her, trying to get his mind off it for now, it'll just confuse him more.

Aqua smiled, though, shaking her head. "No, I believe you're ready to try and make your own- it may take some time, but when you know how to activate it, you'll feel it."

"Okay, if you say so… um… how does it usually work?" Roxas asked, frowning in confusion.

"Well, it usually takes your best attribute and uses them to their fullest potential- it's not always the case, but it's the best way it'll work. Actually, I thought you used a Command Style back there against Vanitas when he… you know… almost destroyed you." Aqua said, looking at him curiously.

Roxas had to think back for a minute, trying to remember what he did. "Oh, right… that… well no, that wasn't a Command Style, it's a Limit Break. Surely you know about those, don't you?"

Aqua blinked, frowning in confusion. _A Limit Break…? I suppose there's an advantage to being self-taught after all. _"Honestly… that's the first time I've heard of a Limit Break, Roxas. It seemed similar to the Command Style, though- how do you activate it?"

Roxas couldn't help but give an amused smile, _finally_ he knew something the Keyblade Wielders themselves didn't know. "It's a little hard to explain, but I'll try my best to. A Limit Break is something like an adrenaline boost- you usually can only activate it when your body is at its weakest, the weaker it is the stronger the Limit Break, but it's also risky, if you overdo it, your body could collapse and… well… fade away. The Limit Break takes advantage of your strongest potential and nature, and then unleashes it all at once when you call upon it."

Aqua blinked in surprise, before frowning slightly. _That sounds similar to the Command Style- but at the same time, it's more of an 'ace in the hole' type of attack. _"Well, I'll show you an example of a Command Style- watch closely." With that, she began casting Blizzard after Blizzard on a poor tree, until she suddenly glowed a pale blue, ice particles forming for moments at a time around her. "Command Style: Diamond Dust!"

Roxas was watching and studying her like a hawk studying its prey, only he was more fascinated than hungry. The Nobody acted like a little kid seeing a unique animal performing a hard trick for the first time.

Aqua smiled, turning to Roxas. "Now, there are two forms of Command Styles- Level One, which is what I'm using right now, and Level Two, which is much stronger. I'm guessing that Vanitas's Command Style, Dark Impulse, is a Level Two version, but either way, you activate a Command Style by using a certain type of attack- in this case, Blizzard-related attacks."

Roxas nodded as Aqua decided to show him. The Keyblade Master jumped and began firing huge ice crystals into the ocean, instantly freezing it! Roxas smiled as his eyes literally twinkled in excitement, seeing how powerful that could be. _Oh my gosh- that has so much potential for me! It's like a Limit Break, only… only not restricted to when you're low on energy!_

Then at the end, she summoned a huge glacier around her, before shattering it into pieces. When she was done, the glow around her disappeared. "Now, do you see how the Command Style works, Roxas?"

"I think so, that was so awesome!" Roxas smiled before quickly clearing his throat in an attempt to cover up his childish moment there. "I-I mean, that was pretty cool. Maybe I should try it now?"

"Go for it." Aqua nodded to him.

Roxas seem to be concentrating, he stood there for a minute or two trying to get the feeling or the necessary energy built up. The future boy, although seeing Aqua using it, still didn't really know how to use it himself. Roxas tried to focus on his Limit Break, maybe since they're so similar he could use that as a base point.

He felt his Limit Break, but deeper inside, he felt something else. Some other kind of energy. _What the…? _He tried to focus on it, but for some reason, he just couldn't bring it up to the surface and use it. _What is that? Why can't I get to it?_

"Are you having trouble accessing it, Roxas?" Aqua asked him.

"Yeah, I can't seem to reach it." Roxas frowned, crossing his arms. "Is there any easier way?"

The Keyblade Master sighed, shaking her head. "No, not really Roxas. I think you'll have to wait on learning your first Command Style until you subconsciously access it in a fight- but at least now, you know where it is."

"... But… you, Terra and Ven didn't seem to have any problems with using it. Why is it so hard for me? I at least want to use it before we leave here." Roxas said with a sigh. "Come on, let me try." He gave her another pout, making his eyes go wide and teary.

Aqua sighed, reluctantly nodding. "Alright… you can try again. But honestly we got our own Command Styles during the fight with the orbs of light back home, do you remember that Roxas?"

"Yeah, I remember, but I didn't know you learned anything after that, well, not any new powers anyway. Besides, I never saw you guys using it until just recently." Roxas pointed out.

Aqua shrugged. "We still had to learn how to use it, Roxas. And honestly, I think you'll have an easier time learning _how_ once you unlock the ability- after all, it's similar to your Limit Break."

Roxas nodded as he sighed, "Well… let me see…" the Nobody reached in to try and use it. Because he didn't have a name for it, he didn't call out on it. Roxas concentrate as hard as he could on it and, without realizing it, his body began to float a little, surprising Aqua, and some light was surrounding him, but nothing Aqua had never seen before… However, before anything else could happen, Roxas had to stop and ended up falling on his hands and knees as if exhausted.

Aqua blinked, surprised. _He nearly called on it without using the name? Wow… I suppose it's nearly complete for him. _"Roxas, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah… it just… wiped me out a bit… I guess I can't use it right now." Roxas sighed as Aqua helped him up. "Maybe I can work on something else?"

The Nobody's teacher frowned thoughtfully before she slowly nodded. "I can see that. Alright, next we'll work on your Shotlock- I'll set up a makeshift target, and you'll show me how well you do against it."

"Okay, I'll do my best." Roxas said with a firm nod as Aqua began setting up the targets. "So how did I do with it?" Roxas asked curiously as he waited for her to finish.

Aqua glanced over at him, finishing the last target and walking over. "Well, you seemed to nearly have the Command Style complete- you just have to have a bit more experience, I'd say. That and perhaps something to trigger it."

Roxas nodded, giving a small smile. "I'll try to keep practicing until I can use it." He looked at the targets she set up. They appear to be similar to those light orbs Eraqus summoned back during the exam… it felt so long ago. Roxas took aim and fired his usual Shotlocks to show Aqua. They were light energy, but there wasn't that many and they weren't very powerful, which is why the Nobody didn't use it very often.

Aqua frowned in thought, seeing Roxas occasionally miss a target- although it wasn't often. When he was done, she put a hand on his shoulder. "Roxas, you did well- but your Shotlock could be improved. Your aim's quite good, but you don't have enough strength to make it powerful enough to be a good ability, and you need to focus on building up a lot more than the few orbs you have for now."

"I don't know… I mean in a battle I don't think I'll have enough time to actually focus enough to build it up. The enemy will be in constant motion and will attack before I even have the chance." Roxas said with a frown. "Maybe Shotlocks are just not my thing."

Aqua shrugged. "Well… if you honestly don't want to use them, that's your choice- but you'd be surprised how powerful Shotlocks can be."

"Hmm… but how can one focus enough build up to it while locking on to the enemy without getting hit?" Roxas asked her, frowning in confusion.

Aqua chuckled, patting Roxas's head jokingly. "Well… you can use a time-stopping spell, or if your opponent has a pattern, use Shotlocks while they aren't going to attack you.

"Right… I can try that… Too bad my time-stopping spells don't always work, though." Roxas grumbled. "Okay, I'll try again." He took aim and began firing. The Shotlocks were stronger, but they were going everywhere! "Hmm… that didn't do much better…" Roxas sighed, not knowing what he was doing wrong.

Aqua crossed her arms, thinking to herself, before she gave a small smile. "Hey, Roxas? Try it again… But this time, put more effort into making _more_ of them, rather than making each individual orb stronger."

Roxas looked at her before nodding. "Okay, I'll give it a shot." Roxas pointed his Keyblade at the target, the tip of the Keyblade began glowing brighter and bigger with each passing second before it exploded into several beams of light, and they moved around gracefully as they hit the target.

Aqua's eyes widened in surprise, seeing how the beams of light just _demolished_ the target. "...Well, Roxas… I think we've found your perfect Shotlock…" She sweatdropped, still more than a little bit surprised.

"What? That? … I just added some of my magic into it." Roxas said with a sheepish smile. "It had some Fire elements to it, which would explain the orangish glow…" The Nobody was thinking about his friendship with Axel as well as Xion, perhaps that's what made his Shotlock so strong.

Aqua smiled a bit, nodding. "Okay, that's good- now let's begin on some physical training… Show me a few of your attacks on this training dummy."

"Alright, here I go!" Roxas did his best combination attacks on the dummy with only his Kingdom Key. The Nobody strike hard and fast, it wasn't long until the dummy was torn to shreds. "How was that? I can also do some aerial attacks."

Aqua frowned a bit, seeing how badly the dummy was damaged. "Well, you did well for fighting… but what if that was an actual person?" Roxas paused at that, surprised. "I know you want to go all-out, Roxas… but you shouldn't attack someone with the intent to kill- it could be a misunderstanding, or you could ruin the world order by killing the wrong person."

"... Um…" Roxas looked at the dummy, frowning in confusion. "Well I didn't see any reason to hold back. Besides, I usually only fight Heart- I mean Unversed anyway, not actual people."

"..." Aqua hesitated at that, understanding his point. "Well… I suppose when fighting Unversed, it doesn't matter- but if it was me instead of a training dummy, would you attack it so, well… viciously?" Roxas blinked, confused by that question. "Everything has a purpose, Roxas- the training dummy could have been used the entire time, and not just for your ground attacks, for example. Unversed are slightly different, but only slightly… do you understand what I'm talking about?"

Roxas crossed his arms as he took what she said in. _It's like what Ventus said to me before… _"I get it Aqua, I shouldn't go all out on an enemy, especially since it could kill them. And sparring with a friend means you never go all out." _Too bad the Organization failed to mention that, but then again, most of us could usually go all out without killing each other…_ Although Roxas did remember a time when he fought with Saix but didn't kill him when he had the chance, instead he left him to recover.

Aqua nodded, giving him a motherly smile as she ruffled his hair. "Well, I'm glad you're learning, Roxas. But… did anyone tell you _why_ we don't fight as hard as we can, unless fighting a purely dark enemy such as the Unversed, or against other Keyblade Wielders?"

Roxas nodded, glancing up at her. "Yeah, because killing someone from that world could mean the fall of that world and the screw-up of the world's order. Ven told me that when we were fighting Captain Hook back in Neverland."

Aqua blinked in surprise, but she slowly shook her head. "Well… yes and no, Roxas." The Nobody paused at that, confused, and she elaborated, sitting down on the tree holding the paopu fruit. "You see… We Keyblade Wielders have a big responsibility- not just to keep the worlds in balance, but to keep them _safe_. If we go all-out against someone from that world, order aside, we're no longer keeping them safe. Rather… we're trying to harm them ourselves, and that goes against everything we support, everything we _cherish_." She sighed, slowly turning to Roxas. "You have friends back home… right, Roxas?"

Roxas looked off into the distance, seeing the sun setting and the night falling. The Nobody couldn't really say for sure about that… With Xion gone and… Axel going to meet his demise soon… could he really say he has friends anymore? "... Well… I don't know, Aqua." he answered truthfully. "I _had_ friends… but-"

Aqua put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him for a moment. "Well… what if someone had sworn to protect them- to keep them safe, and to keep their life happy? Then… they turned around and attacked those friends- how would you feel about that?"

Roxas gave a humorless laugh at that, confusing Aqua. _I wonder just how much on the money she was on that. I swore to protect them… to protect Axel and Xion… and instead I only ended up attacking both of them. _"... I suppose I wouldn't like it at all…"

* * *

"..." Aqua frowned, still a bit confused about what made Roxas laugh like that, but she eventually dismissed it for now. "Well… then you can understand why we never fight as hard as we can. It may make us weaker… but it also keeps the worlds, and the people within them safe. The Keyblade chose you, Roxas… I think you can honestly say you'd protect those you care about."

Roxas suddenly stood up as he looked at the Kingdom Key in his hand… it had been with him from the moment he was 'born' in Twilight Town- it was almost like an old friend, someone who's been with him since birth… and yet… he couldn't help but wonder if maybe the Keyblade itself either didn't exist or that it made a mistake, and since the latter was not likely, perhaps the former… would be more than reasonable. "...I wonder about that, Aqua… If you knew the life I had lived, you might not have been so quick to agree…"

Aqua blinked at that, confused. "...Quick to agree? Agree about what, Roxas?" She tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away at the last moment. "R-Roxas?" _W… what's troubling him? He looks like Terra right now… That look on his face- it looks just like Terra, back at Radiant Garden…_

"Agree that I should be chosen." Roxas answered softly. "... I never truly received a Keyblade at all… In fact, this thing in my hand right now shouldn't even exist." As he said that, he dropped it to the floor, right before it reappeared in his hands, making him frown. "I don't know why I have it when I _shouldn't_, but… maybe I can get some answers back with your master…"

Aqua blinked, standing up. "Roxas, I-" Her eyes widened in shock as her Nobody pupil suddenly raised his hand and a Corridor of Darkness appeared! _How can he summon that!?I-I had thought before he was just faking it, that the corridors he made were just a trick, but… he could actually SUMMON those!? _"R-Roxas, what are you doing?"

"... I'm sorry Aqua- I appreciate everything, really I do… but there's something about me you should know first." Roxas turned to her, giving her what appeared to be a bright smile, but it was mostly one of sadness and regret. "... Remember what I said before? I'm not even human, I'm a Nobody; a shell of someone whose heart has been corrupted by the Heartless."

Aqua froze, her eyes wide in shock as everything suddenly began to fit into place. _He kept calling himself a Nobody when I first met him… He kept on lying to me… all because…? _"R-Roxas… I…" She took a shaking step forward, but he took one back… away from her. "R-Roxas, wait!" Tears began running down her face as she suddenly ran to stop him. "I don't think you-"

"I'll see you later Aqua… Tell Terra and Ven I said hi." Roxas said with that smile never leaving his face before he disappeared into the Corridor.

Aqua froze, the Corridor disappearing right as she reached it. She was all alone… and she couldn't stop the tears running down your face. "R…Roxas…" she murmured to herself, the torrent of tears beginning to stream faster down her face. _I… I'm sorry- I must have hurt you so badly… Just like I hurt Terra…! _She slowly sank to her knees, using her hands to steady herself and sobbing loudly as the night took over Destiny Islands, cold and unforgiving.

* * *

**DarkFoxKit: What? WHAAAT? Why would Roxas do that? Why would he leave Aqua like that so suddenly? WHY KEY? WHHHHHY?**

**Key2DestNE: THE FEEEELS! *clutches his heart dramatically as he falls over* ….Seriously though, we like twisting the knife a bit- plus I think that'd actually happen if this were to be a canon game made by the creators. They'd be just that mean…**

**DarkFoxKit: Well you can't blame Roxas- I mean, even though Aqua didn't mean it, she did kinda basically told him he and his Keyblade doesn't exist, poor guy. I also feel bad for Aqua, she hadn't meant to hurt anyone either.**

**Key2DestNE: Well of course not, that isn't in her nature! Now then, onto the reviews! KPGirl, don't give her a blowtorch- she'd most likely use it on me for taking away her games 3 times… *sweatdrops before whispering* But yeah, Key2Kitten shall become an official ship! I'm making a clubhouse soon- come and join us if you want~**

**DarkFoxKit: I AM NOT A CAT OR A KITTEN! Doesn't anyone read my full name!? It's DarkFOXKit! FOOOOX! NOT KITTEN! The Kit stands for young fox, okay!? Not cat or kitten! UNDERSTAND PEOPLE!?**

**Key2DestNE: Alright, alright, calm down DarkFoxKit *cough* ten *cough*, we get it. But yeah, a lot of people have considered the idea of Ven and Roxas meeting- we just took our own spin on it. *wink* I think you could try it too if you wanted, you just gotta believe!**

**DarkFoxKit: I heard that 'ten' part to my Kit. *growls* Moving on! Antex buddy, you're not gonna call me kitten too, right?**

**Key2DestNE: There TOTALLY won't be $50 waiting for you in the mail if you do so! *cough* ANYWAYS, yeah, we tried to do an awesome battle with those three, as always. You saw Aqua's reaction to his dual-wielding ability, and I hope we did well with that…**

**DarkFoxKit: Don't listen to him, he's not paying anyone anything. And yes, Roxas doesn't understand why the universe is so cruel to him- poor guy, I don't blame his anger either.**

**Key2DestNE: Now then, next revie- … *quickly hands that one to DarkFoxKit* Nope. I'm NOT dealing with other shippers. Happyperson, yeah, only 8 chapters left now- talk about a wild ride, huh? And yeah, you guys can see what happens then, we're not spoiling~**

**DarkFoxKit: … Um… I don't support yaoi, sorry. A-anyways, moving on… Speculator, hey pal… um… listen, I like your reviews, but it might be a bit easier if you could do it a little earlier if it's possible? Anyways, I'm sure this chapter just answered your first two questions, and yes, they had a small moment, but it was there, Roxas and young Sora I mean.**

**Key2DestNE: Yeah, he sorta chases after Vanitas, but only after learning a bit more from Aqua! :3 You'll see exactly where he goes next chapter, anyways. But yeah, poor Aqua indeed- now not only does she have to deal with something seemingly impossible, but she also has to deal with Roxas dumping another load of heartache on her! ...Hee hee, we're so evil~! :3**

**DarkFoxKit: Hmm, yes, I wonder about the heart beat too~ Was it Roxas's, or someone else's? You don't know~**

**Key2DestNE: Hmm, now then, let's see who's ne-… *twitches at unicron's review* ...The other reviews were answered with this chapter, so you handle this guy. *passes it to DarkFoxKit***

**DarkFoxKit: … You know, the story will end someday, and we will stop updating once it ends, just to make sure you're aware of this, unicorn1000.**

**Key2DestNE: Now then, that wraps everything up! *claps hand to release dust* I hope you all liked this chapter, and- …. *takes DarkFoxKit's 3DS* ...Seriously, what'd we say about playing games during a review!?**

**DarkFoxKit: I wasn't playing games, I'm too nervous right now. Anyways folks, I am DarkFoxKit, this is Key2DestNE, and we look forward to hearing from you!**


	19. Chapter 18: Battle of Time Travelers

**Key2DestNE: Hey everyone, Key2DestNE here with DarkFoxKit, and it's time for another updated chapter of Roxas's Story! Woo! *fires off confetti***

**DarkFoxKit: Yay! Okay, so admittedly this one is shorter compared to our other chapters, but that's because it's reaching towards the climax, and we only wanted to show the fight Roxas goes through here. Who it is? I'm not gonna spoil it, so you'll just have to read.**

**Key2DestNE: *grins mysteriously* Ohoho, I think you all are going to like this chapter, that's for sure~! We don't own any part of Kingdom Hearts, just our version of the fights and stuff like that- so with that in mind, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 18: Battle of Time Travelers**

Roxas was walking through the darkness… he panted and felt a bit weak- without his coat to protect him from the darkness, it was starting to take its toll on him- but he trudged on through, wanting to get to the Land of Departure.

_I guess telling Aqua I was a Nobody was a bit uncalled for… I don't even know why I told her… I just felt like I had to before I left. Maybe then she'll understand… and won't miss me when it's time for me to leave._

The Nobody sighed as he finally made it out of the darkness. Roxas looked around but his breath hitched when he felt a sharp prick of light, it was so sharp that it really caught Roxas off guard and irritating him to a point that he groaned. _What? Since when could I sense someone's light? I could only sense darkness!_

He looked around, noticing he was back where he first met Ven, on the cliff on the Land of Departure before rushing towards the light. Roxas winced, feeling the light growing brighter before a familiar darkness appeared in front of the light. _T…Terra?_

* * *

The Nobody stopped when he saw Terra glaring at Master Eraqus, with Ven behind him. "Master! What is the meaning of this? Have you gone _mad_!?"

"Terra! Step aside right now- I command you!" Eraqus demanded with a stern frown.

"I won't!" Terra snapped back, trying to keep Ven safe as his armor faded from around him.

Eraqus's eyes widened, and he asked angrily, "You will not heed your Master!?" Terra merely glared defensively, and the Keyblade Master sighed. "Why do all my attempts to reach you _fail_!? If you don't have it in your heart to obey…" He slowly looked up at Terra, as if pleading him to step aside. "Then… you will have to share Ventus's fate!" A small tear slid down his cheek before he dashed right at Terra, slashing at the brown-haired man!

Roxas gasped, as if not believing what he's witnessing here. Eraqus was… going to kill Ven!? But that just contradicted everything he learned! Especially from Ven and Aqua herself! _Why? Why would their own Master kill Ventus!?_

Terra grunted, blocking each attack, although it was clear he was struggling. Ven shook his head, crying out sadly, "Enough, Terra! He's right… I-"

Terra interrupted him, sounding a bit strained. "QUIET!" He grunted, blocking a particularly strong slash from Eraqus before the man knocked Terra's Keyblade to the side. His eyes widened, seeing his Master use the same attack as before on both of them! "GAH!" He was forced back, and Ven was practically knocked out!

The time traveler suddenly felt some darkness within Terra rising and then it spiked into an alarming level, similar to when Vanitas had used Dark Impulse. _No… Terra! What are you _doing_!?_

Terra hastily picked Ven up, taking a deep breath before glaring at Eraqus determinedly. Darkness began to surround the man as he spoke, still glaring at his teacher angrily. "You may be my Master. But I will _not_… let you hurt my _friend_!"

Roxas almost groaned as the darkness spiked again for a moment, but he managed to keep himself quiet… The light Eraqus was using and emitting… it was too much, like it was trying to consume the man himself. _How? Why? Ugh… I've never sensed this much light before!_

"Has the darkness taken _you_, Terra!?" Eraqus demanded, getting into a fighting stance. Terra's eyes narrowed dangerously before he pointed his Keyblade backwards, forming a portal filled with light! Then he tossed Ven into it, the young boy quickly regaining consciousness from hitting the ground a second time. "Command Style: Dark Impulse!"

"Ugh… wait Terra!" Ven called for him, but the portal quickly disappeared, taking Ventus with it.

Roxas frowned and he glared, not liking how this was all turning out. _No, I have to stop this! Terra's using the Dark Impulse Command Style… I can't let this go on!_ "Terra! Eraqus! Please, stop!" Roxas shouted.

Eraqus, not knowing it was Roxas and thinking it was Ven coming back, somehow, quickly shot a ball of light at him! Roxas had no time to react as the bright ball of searing light hit him so hard it caused him to fly back a few feet! "GAH!"

Terra's eyes widened, however, realizing who it really was there. "ROXAS!" He glared at Eraqus, slamming his Keyblade into his Master's side. "I _said_, stop hurting my friends!" he roared angrily.

* * *

Roxas hit the ground pretty hard, rolling back a few inches before he stopped. Groaning in pain, the Nobody slowly began picking himself up, feeling his whole body protesting his actions. "Ugh… Great, just _great_\- I just got shot at because he thought I was Ven… But… why would he try to kill Ven? It doesn't make any sense!"

Roxas frowned worriedly, noticing Terra and Eraqus were fighting once more- however, before he could rush forward, a barrier of darkness appeared between Roxas and the two fighting Keyblade Wielders! "W-wha!?" Roxas's eyes widened, seeing such a barrier appear out of nowhere. _What the heck…?_

Seeing Terra being hit by Eraqus's Keyblade, the Nobody's rage spiked as he summoned Oathkeeper to try and strike at the barrier. He tried hitting it and he tried using magic, but nothing was working. _No! Who's using this barrier? I don't want this to happen!_ Then he stopped, he sensed someone nearby… someone with a lot of darkness. He turned around, gasping when he saw a familiar black cloak, shimmering in and out of existence. "W-wha!? Who are you!?"

"..." The unknown figure merely stared at Roxas as it finally solidified itself into being. "...I cannot allow you to interfere with this battle."

Roxas glared, clenching Oathkeeper tightly. "Who are you?" He knew it wasn't Axel/Lea, but there was something… foreign yet familiar about this stranger. "Why are you trying to stop me?"

"I… will not allow you to alter time… to prevent the plan from being carried out." the figure said, confusing Roxas even further. Before the Nobody could question it, however, he slowly held up one hand, summoning what looked like a blade made of pure blue energy!

Roxas's eyes widened at this, before he glared and gritted his teeth. "... Xemnas? Are you Xemnas?!" _He said 'alter time'... so… does that mean he also traveled through time? He MUST be Xemnas! This… isn't an illusion, right? But something's off… why is his blade blue and not red? And he's shorter..._

The figure paused, before summoning another blade into his second hand. "...Xemnas _is_ one of whom I search for, however… I sensed you- so I came earlier than I expected." He held his two blades in a reverse grip, similar to Ventus, as he got into a battle stance.

Roxas quickly got into his own battle stance. "... You're not Xemnas… then… who _are_ you?" he demanded, but watched him carefully.

"..." The figure suddenly charged Roxas, making the boy quickly yelp and block his sword strike! "I will not answer your question, fellow time traveler, just know I am _not_ your leader, even if I search for him."

Roxas glared, so his suspicions were right, this guy _is_ from another timeline. The Nobody had no idea what this mysterious figure wants with Xemnas, but he's not going to let that stop him from saving Terra. "I won't let you stop me! If you're a time traveler, then you-" Roxas had to jump back because the… 'smaller Xemnas' began moving around his two blades too quickly for Roxas to follow, so he had to jump back or he'd take some serious damage there.

"Then I know the dangers of altering the timestream. The battle here with Terra and Eraqus is _meant_ to happen and you are not going to stop it." the figure answered, re-entering his battle stance before charging his enemy once more.

Roxas glared as he dodge roll more attacks. "THUNDER!" He shot electricity at the figure, then he made a quick dive at him and began striking with his own combo, but before he could get four hits in a row, these orbs of light appeared around them and the energy turned into spear before they suddenly began attacking him, going straight through his body as if they were ghosts, but it hurts as bad as being stabbed by a real spear!

"You should have never met them, you should have never come here, and you should have never became a part of their group." the figure sneered as Roxas quickly dodge roll out of the way before more energy spears could get him.

Roxas panted as he held his chest, it wasn't bleeding or anything, but the pain was almost unbearable! It was like there was a hole in his chest even though there isn't one. "I didn't _ask_ to come here in the first place!"

"Time travel isn't a simple task, foolish Nobody." the figure commented, slashing at Roxas three times, all of which said Nobody dodged. "You cannot simply _arrive_ in a different time period."

Roxas dug out a quick Hi-Potion to heal himself, not wanting to waste his magic. "So what are you saying? That I came here on purpose!? Because I sure as heck _didn't_!" He quickly blocked around incoming attack before he slashed with Oathkeeper, managing to do some damage. _I wonder if this guy even knows anything about me?_

The figure clenched his two blades tighter, before suddenly turning invisible! "A Nobody who ran from his own past knows nothing, and _understands_ even less! I doubt you even remember those you killed, let alone how you have arrived here."

Roxas hissed, his anger growing at that comment. "How _dare_ you say that! I didn't kill anyone!" He intentionally ignored that he had killed Xion, because nobody's supposed to know she even existed except for him. "And I only fell down a freaking _hole_\- that's how I got here!" Roxas quickly cast Reflectaga when the person slashed down on him with a fiery X, and thankfully the Reflect spell kept him from getting hurt and it unleashed its own counter attack right back at the person.

The unknown figure grunted in pain, clutching his chest. "Oh? I suppose you met a _white rabbit_ when you arrived here too, hmm?" he asked mockingly. "Impossible- time travel does not initiate when falling down a _hole_, you forgetful Nobody."

"Stop calling me forgetful!" Roxas snapped angrily as he began tossing Oathkeeper at him with Strike Raid. "I didn't forget _anything_!"

"You forgot _her_." the figure lazily commented, summoning three vortexes of flames to surround him as he flew right towards his opponent.

Roxas gasped as he was hit by the figure and the flames! Roxas yelled out in pain before falling to the ground. The Nobody glared, however, as he quickly rolled on the side, dodging more attacks, until he got back to his feet. "Forgot _'her'_?" _Is he referring to Xion? … But how does he know her? I mean, I know he's a time traveler, but I never saw him before! And how could he know her if everyone's forgotten including Axel!?_

The figure chuckled mirthlessly, summoning a tornado and sending it after Roxas. "If you don't remember the name of her, you may as well remain in the dark about the _puppet_, foolish boy."

Roxas didn't like how he was talking about Xion that way, but there was something that he noticed as the man kept taunting him. _He thinks I still forgot about Xion… and he doesn't know how I really got here… so he doesn't know _everything_ then, even if he acted like it… hmm… in that case… I think I can use this to my advantage. He probably doesn't know I've been training here either, and is expecting me to rely on my own training from the future…well he's in for a surprise._

The figure summoned four copies of himself, sending them after Roxas. "Try fighting clones, and _then_ you may be worthy of learning her first letter, you naive fool."

"You think you're so clever, don't you?" Roxas snapped as he dodged another one of those deadly combos. "And just how do you expect me to answer, huh?" He quickly cast Reflectaga just before another spear could try to hit him from behind, slamming Oathkeeper into the first clone's gut.

The figure smirked, raising his fingertips. "Well, you shouldn't know how to answer to _this_." He snapped his fingers, and Roxas's eyes widened, seeing a meteor literally falling from the sky!

The Nobody tried to escape it, he knew Reflect wouldn't be enough to stop an attack this big! _How could Terra and Eraqus NOT notice what's going on outside the barrier? Is it soundproof and a one-sided view too!? _Roxas tried to escape it, but the meteor was too fast, and it hit him directly! "GAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"..." When he didn't hear anything for a few moments, the figure chuckled darkly, turning. "Well… I suppose the timeline will go on as expected… Time to test-" He froze, glancing around. "..." _Is that my imagination… or did I hear something?_

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a strange beam of light, one that had a marking of a Nobody symbol on top, charged at him! The figure quickly dodged it, but another came at him almost as fast! He dodged this one too, but then another came and another… More and more of them, they became faster, until it was impossible to dodge, smacking him around! When the figure grunted and fell to the ground, he heard footsteps.

Roxas came out from the bushes, hurt, staggering a bit, but he was far from out. His bangs covered his eyes, but one could tell he was glaring fiercely as his hands were gripping Oathkeeper tightly. "I've… failed… too many… friends already… I won't… fail them… AGAIN!" He charged at the figure and showed no mercy as he began to beat him, using his Limit Break to make Oathkeeper much stronger!

Then Roxas quickly back flipped away and grabbed his Wayfinder, holding it into the air. "VENTUS!" He glowed green for a second and then his attacks became much faster and agile- he didn't stop as he began beating on the figure again, dodging his every move before comboing him.

The figure grunted again and again, growing more and more irritated himself. Finally, he stopped time, beginning to reverse it. "I do not know how you survived the meteor… but I will _not_ allow you to attack me time after time!"

"What the!?" Roxas was shocked, not knowing what the heck he was doing or what that clock was for, but he had a bad feeling about it. Without anymore hesitation, he charged at the clock, trying to hit and destroy it, but the figure wouldn't have any of it- he fought back while Roxas was trying to destroy it. Still weakened, Roxas couldn't get through to him to get to the clock, and suddenly everything began to warp around the Nobody and the figure, it felt similar to when Roxas fell down the hole that made him end up in this timeline.

* * *

In a flash of light, Roxas suddenly found himself a few feet away from the figure, who looked like he just got into his battle stance and Roxas himself was fine, like he never got hit by that meteor. "What- what did you _do_!?" the confused Nobody demanded.

"..." The figure scowled, seeing Roxas was confused. "So… you remembered our battle… I'll admit, that was unexpected, however, I will not underestimate you this time!" He suddenly summoned a huge ball of flames, sending it right at Roxas!

Roxas gasped at the sudden attack as he countered with his own magic. "FREEZE!" He quickly sent out huge ice crystals in contrast to those balls of flames, canceling it out. "What do you mean I remembered our battle? What did you DO!?" Roxas demanded again, still too confused as his mind was a bit scrambled to put it all together.

The unknown figure grumbled in irritation, rushing forward at Roxas and slashing at him. "I reversed time- but I didn't consider your status as a fellow time-traveler. You must have followed me."

Roxas glared as he managed to think through the haze. _Reversed time- wait, he REVERSED THE BATTLE!? You've got to be KIDDING me! How am I supposed to beat someone who can rewind the battle whenever they lose!? …I have to think of a way to prevent him from using that ability somehow…_ Then he noticed something… his opponent looked tired! _Wait… how can- … of course, _he's _the one who used the time thing, so perhaps that ate up some of his energy, this could be my chance!_

The figure suddenly fired a web of energy at Roxas, capturing him in it! "This is the end- farewell. Five… Four…" A clock appeared above Roxas's own head, mimicking what the figure was saying.

Roxas's eyes widened as he quickly began to struggle, trying to get out of the web of energy. _Come on, come on, come on!_ The Nobody struggled harder, trying to get out before the timer reached zero. _COME ON!_

Just before the timer ticked down to zero, Roxas managed to toss the web off of him, and it exploded before fading away. The figure's eyes widened at this, and he took a step back in shock. "WHAT?! How…?"

Roxas gritted his teeth as he ran at the figure and began twirling Oathkeeper around before throwing it. It was like Strike Raid, only it was spinning horizontally, and it cut down a nearby tree and caused it to fall on the figure. Roxas re-summoned Oathkeeper back to his hand before he began building up energy into it. _More… more… _And as soon as the ball of energy and light became its biggest at the tip of his Keyblade, the figure cut through the trunk of the tree and was charging at Roxas. "NOW!"

Roxas shot off his Shotlock, which he called the Giga Impact, and the energy gracefully flew in a circle as they homed in on the figure, who didn't even have time to react as it was so sudden!

The figure got slammed all around, grunting at each single orb that hit him. _GAH! Why… why that good-for-nothing… How could he use a SHOTLOCK of all things!? He never had a Master!_

Roxas smirked, twirling his Keyblade around. "How do you like _that_? Lower the barrier, _now_!"

"..." The figure chuckled dryly. "Oh? And why should I? It's not like you should know him… he's as meaningless in your life as puppets are!"

Roxas's eyes darkened with rage at that, growing furious at this figure's constant taunting. "How _dare_ you say that!" His body started to light up as he began to float, lights surrounded him, but they didn't last long as they suddenly stopped, but Roxas didn't seem to care or notice. "Don't you _ever_ say that! EVER!" And Roxas began summoning those pillar of lights despite not using a Limit Break, and they began scrambling everywhere, mostly attacking the figure.

Roxas was panting, his rage dying a bit as the figure stumbled around. _What… what did I just do? … Where did those pillar of lights come from? Was… was that a… Command Style…?_

* * *

The figure groaned in pain, the barrier separating them from Terra and Eraqus slowly flickering away as the figure began to do the same. "You… know techniques… you shouldn't… You… little… worthless… Nobody…!" He grunted, grabbing his chest. "I… suppose you can go… It's… too late… anyways…"

Roxas glared again, the figure was powerful and fast, but at least he didn't have to use two Keyblades, not that it mattered since the figure knew enough about him. "I want to know… who are you, how are you able to travel through time?" He began to walk forwards, grabbing the figure's hood.

"!" The unknown man quickly pushed Roxas away, barely stopping himself from falling to the ground. "...Hmph… You're…_ too_ curious…" By now, he was almost gone, but Roxas could tell a faint smirk was on his lips. "Very well… If you… wish to know…" He slowly raised his hands to his hood, pushing it off and revealing silver hair and yellow eyes. "My name… is Xehanort. And my… future self… gave this power to me… to reforge the X-Blade if all goes wrong!"

Roxas didn't really seem all that surprised, he had already half expected it actually. "I guess Xehanort has thought of everything. Too bad that he didn't know about me coming here, now did he?" The Nobody glared at the younger Xehanort. _He almost looks like a younger Xemnas…_

The younger Xehanort chuckled mirthlessly, shaking his head. "You… shouldn't have… been here… you foolish Nobody…"

"..." Then Roxas just remembered what he just said, and he blinked. "... Wait, why is he trying to forge a Keyblade? Doesn't he already have one?"

"Not _Key_blade, you idiot…" Young Xehanort's smirk grew as he began fading away. "It… is spelled x blade… and it is the… most powerful thing… in the universe. You… won't stop… our plans…" With that, he was gone, leaving the victorious time traveler to his thoughts.

* * *

_X-Blade? … What could that be? … Whatever it is… it's… causing some fear in my chest for some reason…_ Roxas frowned, putting a hand over his chest as if confused and concerned. _… I wish I could've questioned him more…_ Then the Nobody quickly turned as if remembering about Terra and Eraqus. "Oh no, the fight!" He quickly ran into the area they were fighting in, only to see Terra looking very scared, worried and regretful while Eraqus was clutching his chest in pain. They seemed to be talking to each other, but they were speaking too low for Roxas to hear.

"Terra!" Roxas called as he ran closer to them, but suddenly, darkness spiked from behind Eraqus. Roxas gasped and stopped when something or someone suddenly stabbed Eraqus from behind! "W-WHAT THE!?"

Terra fell to his knees, trying to catch his Master as he fell to the ground, but just as he caught Eraqus, the man disappeared in a shower of light. Terra froze, his eyes wide in despair. _I… he… he was… killed in front of me…? _He stammered for a moment, slamming his hands on the ground as tears began to fall from his eyes. "M-Master Eraqus!"

Roxas suddenly ran in front of Terra, clenching his fist angrily as he snapped, "You!"

Terra gasped when he saw Roxas suddenly in front of him as another figure walked up to them.

"What a pitiful sight. Why must you trouble yourself so, Master Terra? The man was bent on destroying his own pupil!" the old Xehanort said, crossing his arms.

"Xehanort! Why did you strike him down!?" Roxas demanded angrily, still between the two. "The fight was _over_\- Terra won!"

Xehanort shook his head, giving a small smirk. "Roxas… the boy I know the least. At times, you fascinate me- at others, you _irritate_ me." He turned away from both of them, walking towards the entrance of the castle. "You know, at times I find your progress quite striking, Terra. But you still fall short! Let all that anger _out_, my boy- give your heart over to darkness!"

Terra quickly stood up, pulling Roxas back behind him as if to protect him should Xehanort try anything. "What do you mean!?" He summoned his Keyblade, keeping it up and at the ready.

The Nobody found it ironic and irritating that he's now in the same position Ventus was in just before the battle with Eraqus. "Xehanort was using you, Terra! He _wanted_ you to give in to the darkness in your heart all this time!"

Xehanort chuckled, stopping and placing his hands behind his back. "Still so blind, Terra… your friend is right- and I will make you see for yourself." He turned around, suddenly summoning his Keyblade! "Come to the place where all Keyblade Wielders leave their mark on fate- the Keyblade Graveyard! There you will watch your dearest friends meet their _ends_, and the last light within you will _die_!" With those last words, he aimed his Keyblade into the air, firing off a pool of darkness!

Before Roxas or Terra could do anything, the entire world was soon covered in darkness! Roxas gasped as the darkness around them began to consume the world. "What's happening!?" _Is this what it's like when the Heartless consumes the world's heart?_

Terra looked around, his eyes wide with shock as Xehanort continued. "Your world will be destroyed- you won't need a home anymore where _you're_ going, Terra!" With that, he turned and opened a Corridor of Darkness, beginning to walk into it.

"XEHANORT!" Terra yelled as he ran towards him, but the Corridor had already vanished.

* * *

Roxas looked around as the world began to crumble, the ground began breaking apart, the castle becoming consumed into the giant dark void in the sky. "..." Roxas looked down, not wanting to see this place torn apart. _… Funny… I shouldn't be feeling so bad… and yet… I find myself feeling torn up about this. I barely knew the world, but… it's also where I first met Ventus, Aqua and Terra…_

Roxas turned to look at Terra, who must be much more torn about about this since this was_ his_ home world and that the man whom he thought was a good master turned out to be nothing more than some darkness psychopath… who killed someone who was like a father to him.

Terra looked around him, still shocked, before the light within him began to grow once more, and he slowly stood up, pulling out his Wayfinder. "...Ven… Aqua… I _won't_ let him hurt you." He squeezed his Wayfinder gently, before putting it back in his pocket. "Roxas… you coming?"

"Well I'm certainly not going to stay here." Roxas said with a small smirk. "We'll take him on together- we'll keep Aqua and Ven safe from him!"

Terra nodded, summoning his Keyblade. "Right…" He summoned his armor with a single punch, turning to the sky and tossing his Keyblade up into it before said Keyblade came back down as the Keyblade Glider. He jumped on, Roxas quickly joining him, before the brown-haired man glanced back. "Roxas… did he…" He trailed off, but Roxas easily knew what he meant; he was worried when Eraqus shot at Roxas earlier.

"No, I'm fine Terra, don't worry- you should know by now it'd take something more than that to hurt me." Roxas said light heartedly. "We can talk more when we get there- let's just get out of here before we end up dead."

Terra nodded, opening up a portal in the sky ahead of them. "Right… Let's move." _Master Eraqus… I'm sorry… but I promise, I'll keep Ven and Aqua safe!_

* * *

In the Realms of Between, Roxas had to say, "I'm… really sorry about what happened with Eraqus… I just wish I could've gotten to know him better before all this happened."

Terra sighed, flying along. "Roxas… it wasn't your fault- it was mine. If I hadn't weakened and attacked him so much… maybe he…" _Maybe he could have fended off Xehanort…_

"I think I could've done something to stop it." Roxas muttered. _Stupid time traveling Xehanort._ "I wanted to stop it… I knew all too well it wouldn't end well… I just… didn't think it would end like _that_…"

Terra nodded softly, his thoughts focused on what he had done. _I… I still can't believe it. I… I technically _killed_ my own Master… The one who essentially raised me, the one who taught me everything I know. Xehanort may have dealt the final blow… but… but_ I_ was the one who allowed that to happen._

"... Terra…" Roxas spoke up softly. "... You… weren't the only one who felt like he's killed someone close to him…"

The man blinked at that, turning to Roxas in confusion. "...What? You don't mean _you_ killed someone close to you, right?" _When would Roxas _do_ that?_

"... It's…" Roxas hesitated as Terra began to land into the world. "I…" Again, the Nobody wasn't sure what to say.

Terra focused on his descent onto the ground, but he still listened to his friend with an open ear. "Roxas, you can say it… honestly if you did, I won't be upset too much- you probably hate yourself as much as I am right now."

When they finally landed, the armor disappeared off them in a flash. Roxas looked at the ground before he turned to Terra, frowning a bit. "... Terra… how were you taught by Master Eraqus?" Roxas asked him, adding the 'Master' title because he felt it was… necessary right now.

Terra blinked at that, surprised. "How… was I taught? …I suppose like any Master, really…" Then he frowned a bit, glancing at the ground. "But… he was also like a father… I…" He clenched his fist, frowning softly. _I _loved_ him like a father…_

Roxas nodded to him, crossing his arms. "And you never meant to hurt him, you were only worried because of what he was about to do with Ventus. You only fought in self-defense, but in the end, you never struck him down by your own hands."

Terra paused at that, surprised. _…He… he isn't _wrong_… but he's acting like there's more to it. _"Roxas, what do you mean? I… I don't understand."

The Nobody sighed, turning away from his friend. "... Terra… I don't know if you noticed, but… well… have you ever noticed the way I fight? That I fight too aggressively? Almost like I would kill my enemies without second thought?"

Terra frowned, a bit confused. "Well yes, but I fight the same way- we both protect those we care for. Roxas… what are you getting at?"

"You fight like I do?" Roxas asked him quietly, ignoring his question. "... Aqua and Ventus didn't seem to think the way I fight was acceptable for someone who wields the Keyblade." It was then Roxas realized that Terra never actually saw him fight someone, only against Unversed and the crocodile. "What about the time when I fought you back at the Olympus Coliseum? Didn't it look like I was _trying _to kill you?"

Terra's eyes widened, before he put a hand on Roxas's shoulder. "Roxas… I… well, it did, but you clearly thought I was someone you hated- and besides, you _didn't_ kill me."

"But I _could've_, Terra!" Roxas suddenly snapped, surprising Terra. The boy stepped back, shaking his head slowly. "The point is I _shouldn't_ have been a Keyblade Wielder in the first place! I was never fit to wield the Keyblade!"

Terra frowned, taking a step forward. "Roxas, you're a kind kid, even if you don't think you are. And-"

"No Terra, I'm not." Roxas said, interrupting him. "See this Keyblade?" He showed Terra the Kingdom Key in his hand as the boy's bangs hid his eyes. "It's not even real, it's a fake, a sham, nothing more than a copy. I never had a real Keyblade, I was never chosen by it, I never was chosen by a Master. And now I know that I don't even deserve a _fake_ Keyblade either!"

Terra gasped, feeling more and more shocked as the boy in front of him spoke. "Roxas, what do you mean by that? The Keyblade can't be fake, it-"

"It's nothing more than a copy of the real thing… just like I am." Roxas said as he made the Kingdom Key disappear.

"What?" Terra said, growing even more confused by that.

Roxas didn't elaborate on that, instead he said, softly, "Terra, although you didn't kill your Master by your own hands, it's still sad about what happened to him. You two were very close, I could tell. But… what if I told you that… there was someone I knew who was very close to someone else… and he ended up killing her by his own hands?"

The Keyblade Wielder frowned, almost completely lost by now. "I… Roxas… are you saying that you…?" _So… that's why he… seemed so sad at times?_

Roxas began backing away from Terra, not looking at his friend of him. "Maybe the only reason why I can't truly be consumed by darkness… is because… I was _already_ corrupted when I came into being. I'm beyond saving… I'm shunned by both light and darkness, I'm just… nothing. I… I fight to kill, and I would even do that… to a good friend… and _nothing _will change that."

Terra gritted his teeth, suddenly rushing towards Roxas. "W-wait, Roxas, listen! I-" He gasped, noticing Roxas was standing right at the edge of a cliff and hastily stopping. "...R-Roxas?"

"... I'm sorry Terra… I… I really appreciate everything you've done for me… I was glad I have met you… but… the truth is, I don't belong here and never have. It would be best if you just forget about me and go save your two real friends, they're waiting for you." Roxas turned towards the cliff, as if about to jump.

Terra tensed up, taking a hasty step forward. "Roxas, wait! _Don't ju_-" As if defying what the Keyblade Wielder was about to finish saying, Roxas walked off the cliff, beginning to fall. "NO!"

But to Terra's shock, when he ran at the edge of the cliff, he saw Roxas _gliding_ just off the ground! The older Keyblade Wielder eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he watched the boy gliding off on his own. _Wh… what in the world? _He nearly fell off the cliff himself, still in shock about Eraqus's death, and now seeing one of his own friend _gliding_ through the air! _How… how is he flying? Roxas… I… you've been through a lot, just like me… haven't you?_

* * *

**DarkFoxKit: *sniffles, beginning to sob on the couch* First Aqua, now Terra… why are you breaking their hearts, Roxas? Whhhhhhy?**

**Key2DestNE: Actually, it's because he wants to severe their bond with him because he didn't want to be hurt too much when he has to leave… *pokes his head up behind Fox, holding a finger up knowledgeably***

**DarkFoxKit: *smacks finger away* I KNOW! But it's still so sad! And if you guys think that's sad, wait until the next chapter… bring your tissues.**

**Key2DestNE: If you didn't run out of them during this chapter *cough* like Fox did *cough*, that is! Heh- now onto the reviews! Ante, lovely to see ya again. Heh- I'm glad to see you liked the feels of last chapter, so I hope you brought enough tissues for this time too~ As for the voice… heh… we're still leaving that up to you guys for now, but rest assured that it will be addressed eventually!**

**DarkFoxKit: FlightfootKeyseeker, uh well, Roxas isn't a true Keyblade Master so that would've been impossible-**

**Key2DestNE: *pops up again with the finger* Not really, since even though Terra wasn't a true Keyblade Master, he was able to give Riku a Keyblade… *cough* Sorry, had to say it. *disappears***

**DarkFoxKit: *twitch* … Well he's not gonna do it regardless because he doesn't know much about it anyway! Besides, he wouldn't do it even if he did know about it, due to being from the future and all. Also, I think this chapter answered how Roxas will 'affect' the confrontation, which is sadly not much.**

**Key2DestNE: Yeah, but he did have a good reason for it! That Young Xehanort fight was intense… *clears throat* Anyways… KPGirl, if you liked last chapter's feels I hate to see how this one affected you! Yeah, sadly the chapters are getting a bit shorter in a lot of people's eyes due to them getting hyped, but it's still doing great- like you said, great story, great stuff, great ship *cough* your application to the club is in the mail *cough* and as for when Roxas sees Vanitas's face… weeeeell, you'll see soon enough. And I think we covered him meeting up with Terra again well! :3**

**DarkFoxKit: Hey! Let me get a few words in too! *grumbles* Oh, and thank you for the prestigious title, we very much appreciate how much you like the story! And most people hate Mondays so it's why I decided to do it on Mondays to give that poor day a little love.**

**Key2DestNE: ...Er… Happyperson, thanks for the riddle, I guess? *is confused* Didn't really need it, since we were busy with uploads, but thanks for the thought buddy!**

**DarkFoxKit: somebodyelse13, well you saw Eraqus's reaction, he thought Roxas was Ventus in the heat of the moment and tried to 'kill' him. And, well, Roxas was a bit too busy with Young Xehanort to help Terra or fight against him. And Xion, well let's just say you'll see her before the story ends.**

**Key2DestNE: *is grinning evilly* Ohoho, yes you will, you will indeed~! Speculator, it's fine that you uploaded the review early- we just prefer having all reviews done before we upload the next chapter if we're to address it. Of course you were gonna have a Roxas and young Sora moment- what, did you think we would miss that opportunity? Of course not! :3**

**DarkFoxKit: And I felt bad for Aqua too, but it was 'for the best' as Roxas thought, give the guy a break- he's suffered a lot himself. And the events for the Final and Secret Episode… well… let's just say you'd be surprise with those.**

**Key2DestNE: Ohoho, you'd be very surprised~! *wink* Well, I think your questions about this chapter were answered here, so… yeah.**

**DarkFoxKit: And don't you worry about Lea, he and Roxas will have their moment of catching up before the story's done. *stretches* Looks like that's all of the questions for this chapter.**

**Key2DestNE: Wah- already? That seemed quick! Guess we're just super hyped for the end of this story… don't worry, only 7 chapters left~ *grins evilly* I SHALL BE HYPING IT- and our ship *cough*- TO THE END! ):3**

**DarkFoxKit: Sure, you'll be hyping it up so much that the fans will be beating down our doors and windows once the story DOES end. I'll be leaving them up to you.**

**Key2DestNE: … *gulp* I… didn't think of that. O-o RUNNING NOW! *runs offscreen***

**DarkFoxKit: *smiles at the camera* Well, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm DarkFoxKit, the guy who's running like a headless chicken is Key2DestNE, and we look forward to hearing from you!**


	20. Chapter 19: Tears of a Nobody

**DarkFoxKit: *sniffs* … O-oh, hi everyone… sorry I'm cr- have allergies… but uh… well it's cold today and… well… this chapter is pretty sad…**

**Key2DestNE: *gently pats her head* There there… it'll be okay, DarkFoxKitty… *looks to the camera* Yeah, this is one of our sadder chapters- get the tissues ready… otherwise you'll be in for a bad time…**

**DarkFoxKit: Hey! I told you stop calling me kitty! *grumbles* …Hmm… did you know there are animatronics in your little club?**

**Key2DestNE: ...W-wait… WHAT!? O_O *zooms off* I'll be back soon, Fox you do the disclaimer!**

**DarkFoxKit: Hee, hee, hee, can't believe he fell for it~ *ahem* Well readers, consider this an early Christmas gift from us! Hope you guys will enjoy one of our saddest chapters yet!**

* * *

**Chapter 19: Tears of a Nobody**

Roxas had landed on the ground but kept going, and he ran, not wanting to look back. Tears fell from his face, he didn't like what he had done but… _I did what I had to do. Terra and Aqua deserved to know at least _some_ truths about me… I… I never should've became a part of their group… I never should've became their friend! I'm only a Nobody, I shouldn't even _exist_ to them! This is… for the better. I have to shatter their bonds with me, it's for the best…anyone with a heart should _never_ become friends with a Nobody._

The time traveler kept running until he reached an area with a lot of tornadoes moving around, Roxas didn't seem to care as he stopped finally, panting. _Sora… he was never supposed to be a Keyblade Wielder at all… so why…?_

"_You were just the delivery boy." _Riku's voice rang in his head.

The Nobody gave a sad look as he looked at his hands, as if wondering if he was an illusion about to fade away. _The Keyblade only went to Sora because he was the only one around for it at the time? So… if he was just the delivery boy… what does that make _me_? I thought I finally knew why the Keyblade chose me when I found out just _who's_ Nobody I was… but now… now I'm more confused than ever. If Sora was never chosen by a Master, then why am I able to wield a Keyblade at all? … Xion's Keyblade was apparently a copy built from my own, or so they said… but… what if _my _Keyblade was a copy from the one Sora was using? Then… it would explain why my Keyblade looks just like his…_

Roxas's hands began to ball into a fist, his mouth speaking his thoughts out loud. "Why? Why _me_!? Why was I chosen to wield a Keyblade!? Is it even real? If it is, then why do _I_ have it!? SOMEONE ANSWER ME THAT! I'm a Nobody! Nothing but a Nobody! I don't have a heart! I can't use a Keyblade without a heart!" He gritted his teeth as there was no answer to his troubling questions. "Without a heart… it shouldn't be _hurting_ so much when I broke my bonds with Aqua and Terra."

Roxas looked around, finally noticing tornados full of Unversed swirling around him, he gritted his teeth, growing annoyed at this interruption. "I… I'm just a fake… just like my Keyblade…" He turned, glaring heatedly at the tornados. "Just… like all of _you_!" He suddenly summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion, jumping straight into one of the tornados! "You're all just a part of Vanitas… and _he_ shouldn't even exist, either!" Oathkeeper slammed into a Flood's head, easily destroying it. "You're!" He slammed Oblivion into another Flood that was jumping for his head. "NOT!" Finally, he tossed his Keyblades into the tornado's center, bashing every Unversed into the ground. "_REAL_!"

The tornado soon disappeared, but there were more lingering around, Roxas was still glaring in anger and rage, panting slightly. Suddenly a familiar black coat was being blown with the wind and landed in front of him. Roxas looked at the coat- it was the same one he threw out back at the Olympus Coliseum, he had thrown it away because he had claimed he didn't need it anymore. The boy slowly bent down to pick it up, it had somehow found its way back to him again, almost like the Keyblade always did, real or not.

The Nobody stared at the black coat before nodding to himself. "_None_ of us are real… I'm a Nobody, not a human with a heart… and it's time I started acting like it." With that said, he put on the black coat once more. "This is who I am… this is who I was _meant_ to be." Roxas didn't cover his face, but he gave a look of content while wearing the black coat again. "And… it's time I stopped trying to be someone _else_."

Roxas re-summoned his two Keyblades and ran into another tornado, wanting nothing more than to fight until the bitter end. While in another tornado of Unversed, he started using more of his magic and his pseudo-Command Style. The Nobody began spamming more and more of his light attacks, the pillars of light becoming much more faster and increasing in numbers, and he didn't stop until every last Unversed was destroyed along with the tornado. He smirked, turning to the next one. "Guess this is my life now."

* * *

Hours passed, or so it felt, it could have been minutes for all he knew. Tornado after tornado flew towards him and he defeated every Unversed within, easily outlasting the creatures even as he used his most energy-costing moves. Finally, however, he _had_ to stop- even then, it was only because he had no more Unversed to fight. Roxas panted, feeling exhausted, before he chuckled slightly. That small chuckle grew and grew, until finally it grew into a loud and slightly insane laugh.

"This is who I'm _supposed_ to be! Nothing and nobody should change that! Not even _myself_!" Roxas looked around. "ANYONE ELSE WANT TO FIGHT!?" he shouted into the sky, leaving an echo. Roxas was about to walk forward before he suddenly fell on his face, causing Oathkeeper and Oblivion to clatter to the ground beside him, but not disappearing. He groaned, feeling his entire body protesting every movement he made. _Ugh… I… used too much energy didn't I…?_

The Nobody struggled to stand up, but he had to settle for leaning against a rock, Oathkeeper and Oblivion stayed on the ground, as if mocking him. "Hah…" Roxas gave a humorless chuckle before he glared at them in irritation. "It was true, nobody could _ever_ wield more than one Keyblade. Who was I fooling? I could only wield two because neither of them were_ real,_ it… it all finally, _finally_ makes sense…"

Feeling more tired than he ever had been in his short life, Roxas lay his head back, groaning softly, before he heard footsteps coming closer to him. The Nobody's eyes were closed, and frankly, he didn't want to open them. _It's best that I just die here… in the past…_ _no one would remember me… it's better this_ _way… I'll go quietly like Xion did._

Roxas lay there, not wanting to open his eyes or even acknowledge the world around him, not until he heard a familiar voice that is. "...Roxas…?" The Nobody froze, hearing someone who sounded so similar to himself, and yet he sounded different at the same time. "...Roxas… that _is_ you, isn't it?"

_Of course HE of all people decided to find me here when I wanted to die… or disappear in peace._ "Just leave me alone." Roxas said quietly, his eyes still closed.

All was quiet for a moment, until Ventus shook his shoulder, and Roxas groaned. "Roxas… c'mon, get up- you can't just lay here in silence." Finally, the Nobody opened his eyes and froze at what he saw. Ven looked… _sad_?

Roxas was about to ask before he reminded himself that he's a Nobody and shouldn't care, and he frowned, keeping an emotionless look on his face. "What do you want?" he asked him. "Do you have business with me?" The semi-sane Nobody made sure his voice sounded like he didn't care about anything.

Ven frowned, keeping his hand on Roxas's shoulder. "What… what's wrong, Roxas? You're not like this usually. In fact, why are you here, like _this_? And… when did you start wearing that black coat again?" He almost looked like Roxas had felt moments ago… lost, hurt, upset…

"Because this is who I really am, Ventus." Roxas answered with the same monotone voice. "I've only been fooling you, Terra, and Aqua that I actually cared, that I was your friend. I was never truly your friend, I was only using you all to make myself stronger. Don't you see? I'm as bad as Vanitas, only I _can't_ feel actual emotions."

Ven gasped, his eyes widening in shock. "W… what?" He looked at Roxas searchingly, trying to see if the boy was lying in any way, before he shook his head. "Roxas, that's not true at all. If you _don't_ have any emotions…" Ven paused as memories of his time with Roxas began flashing in his head. "If you don't… then explain all those moments we had- every time that you smiled, when you laughed, when you fight, even when you looked upset! When you flew in Neverland." He gave a weak smile, shaking his head slowly. "Those can't be faked… I think you're just upset about something…"

Roxas shook his head, his emotionless expression never leaving his face. "You were all too naive, you were too easily fooled. It's quite obvious since your heart is too full of light, it also means you're too nice and too naive to see the truth. Your idea of fighting honorable makes me want to laugh, a battle is a battle, no matter how you look at it- even if it means fighting a friend, you must always fight to come out on top or you won't live very long." _Hate me Ventus, I want you to hate me with all your heart!_

Ven frowned, shaking the Nobody in front of him softly. "Roxas, don't you get it? I'd _never_ fight you!" He gritted his teeth, being reminded of what he might have to do next. "I… I don't _want_ to fight my friends… don't you get it? I'd do _anything_ to keep you guys safe!" Then he paused, taking note of the two Keyblades behind both of them. "...Roxas… you can use… _two_ Keyblades?"

"No, I can't use two Keyblades, I can't even use _one_ Keyblade." Roxas said to him, but he lost some of his emotionless expression as his eyes narrowed a bit. "I'm a liar, Ventus, a fake. I was never a part of your group of friends, and the Keyblade? It was all just a sham, both of them. They were never real, I was never chosen, they were only copies to fool you into thinking I was one of you, so I can infiltrate and learn all your secrets and weaknesses. I'm a traitor, and a liar… and I want you to take me out of your heart, because I don't belong there, or in anyone's! Don't you get it yet!? I'm a _bad guy_!" Roxas hadn't even realized he was shouting at the end of that monologue.

Ven gritted his teeth as Roxas continued to speak, and at the end of it, he finally snapped. "S-shut up! Stop saying that like you don't have any emotions… like none of what happened to us mattered to you!" Tears began dripping down his face as his grip on Roxas's shoulder tightened. "I… I don't care if you call yourself a traitor or a liar… to me… you're still Roxas… my best friend…"

Roxas froze at that, hearing someone from this timeline call him a _best_ friend, but Ventus continued to speak. "The one… the one who, despite looking just like me, acts completely different- the one who flew with me back in Neverland, the one who's been with me at various points in my travels!" Ven's voice broke at the end, and when he spoke up again, _he_ sounded broken. "If… if you're really a traitor… if you really _don't_ care about me at all… then promise me something." Roxas began to say something, but Ven interrupted him. "I… I'm supposed to fight Vanitas… and make something called the X-Blade. If I do… then… I want you to-"

Roxas put a gloved hand over Ven's mouth, stopping him from finishing that sentence. "... I'm not supposed to care… it's not who I was supposed to be… and yet… I can't help _but_ care." he said softly, so softly Ven almost didn't hear him. "I… I don't want to do that, Ven, I _won't_ make that promise, because if I do… I don't think I can fulfill it."

Ven froze, looking up at the Nobody in front of him in shock. "B… but Roxas… I…"

"... Listen to me, Ventus… you have a real future, you have real friends… and I'm sure they're here… looking for you too. But me? I don't have anyone… I'm not meant to… even exist. And I shouldn't have even interacted with you three, let alone become a part of your hearts. This… _this_ is why I want you to severe your bond with me." Roxas said to him, his voice firm.

"..." Ven slowly blinked, still shocked. "...You… you're not meant… to exist?" He frowned, slowly understanding what Roxas said. "...So… does that make me… a _tool_?" His bangs covered his teary eyes once more, slowly letting go of Roxas's shoulder. _After all… apparently I'm just meant to make a weapon…_

"... No… if anything_ I'm_ the tool… at best." Roxas said, shaking his head. "... I think… whatever happens here… you, Terra and Aqua are going to have to face it together, but… just remember… you three have real hearts… and a real bond with each other, that's much more than… I could ever hope to have myself."

"...You're wrong…" Roxas frowned in confusion at that, right before Ven punched his arm softly. "You… you have all three of us- you think that isn't a bond!?" Ven raised his head, finally giving Roxas a tear-filled glare. "If this is who you're supposed to be… I don't like it! I want the old Roxas back- the one who shared all those memories with me! The one who's my _best friend_! Not… not this _shadow_ of him that's feeling sorry for himself!"

Roxas gave him a surprised look before he tilted his head a bit and said, his voice filled with confusion, "... You… called me your best friend twice… why? We haven't known each other for very long…"

Ven punched his shoulder again, but Roxas could tell it wasn't nearly as strong as his look-alike could give. "M-maybe not, but you're still the one who's shared the most with me on this journey! You've been with me whenever you could, and I've made so many important memories with you this _single month_ we've been traveling like this! You think those didn't _mean_ anything to me?!" He sniffled, muttering softly, "Y-you idiot…"

Roxas gave him another surprised look before he gave him a small smile, surprising Ven considering he thought he lost the Roxas he came to know as a friend… and a brother. "... You've made a lot of memories with me, haven't you, Ventus?"

By now, Ven would give just about anything to know what's going on in his look-alike's head, but he slowly nodded, the tears still slowly dripping down his face. "O-of course I have… why wouldn't I? We… we flew together, we laughed together, we've made ice cream together, we even shared some hardships together… I just… I don't understand…" _Why are you like this, Roxas…? Why… are you being so _confusing_?_

"...Tell me Ven, why did you come here? Why did you come to such a desolated place like the Keyblade Graveyard?" Roxas asked him out of the blue. _He said something about Vanitas and the X-Blade? … Didn't that younger Xehanort say something about forging the X-Blade? … I guess… Ventus and Vanitas are the ingredients into making it… how sad, to be used like that, like… how_ I_ was._

"..."

Before Ven could give a proper answer, Roxas stood up and the two Keyblades behind disappeared in a flash of light, then he began walking. Ven gasped in surprise, quickly turning to his friend in confusion. "W-where are you going?"

"You're here for your friends too, right? They're not far, I sense they're close, actually. We'd better go to them before they wonder where you are." Roxas answered calmly.

"...They're probably looking for you too, Roxas." Ventus spoke up, quickly standing up and running after his friend. "You're their friend too, you know! I'm sure… I'm sure they won't just forget about you."

"I'm not so sure… I may have said some things to them and…" Roxas sighed. "They'll probably find it… _unacceptable_. You may accept it, because for one; you're younger and more open minded, not to mention your heart doesn't have any darkness in it. Terra and Aqua on the other hand… I don't think they'd be as forgiving as you. I wouldn't be surprised if they had severed their bonds with me by the time we see them again."

* * *

Ven frowned at that, but they continued to walk, eventually entering what looked like a clearing. Ven shuddered, though, noticing the discolored Keyblades shoved into the ground _everywhere_. There wasn't a single spot without a Keyblade jammed into it, other than an open path leading to a crossroads. _This place… is _creepy_…_

Roxas kept walking as though it didn't bother him. _Now the name for this place makes sense. These lifeless Keyblades… wow… there's so many, it's almost impossible to believe this place _exists_. Perhaps this place is really fitting for someone like me. _"Come on Ven, I see Terra up ahead, and I think Aqua's there too."

Ven frowned, slowly glancing down. "I… r-right…" _Time to… face them, I guess… I think I'll have to ask them… the same thing- here's hoping they understand… _As they walked up, they heard the two Keyblade Wielders beginning to speak, and they paused to listen.

"... I heard the Master was struck down." Aqua said softly to Terra, who gave her a brief surprised look before looking down.

He slowly nodded, his fist clenching loosely. "Yeah, that's right… I was stupid and help Xehanort do it." Aqua gasped at that, as if hoping it wasn't true. "The Master… he… he tried to hurt Ven- I only fought because I wanted to _protect_ him. But I was tricked…" Roxas frowned, seeing Terra's darkness spike slightly before going back down. "_Xehanort_ set the whole thing up, all so he could awaken the darkness inside me." He sighed, slowly looking back up at Aqua. "You… You were _right_, Aqua, and so was the Master! ...I _did_ need to be watched… I went astray… but no more. Now… I fight for my friends."

Aqua looked down as if troubled, before she softly spoke up. "... What else is darkness other than anger and hate? You'll go astray again… tell me Terra, how is that going to honor our Master's memory?" Then she shook her head and changed the subject. "I couldn't protect you… and… I couldn't protect Roxas."

"Roxas? What happened?" Terra suddenly asked, seeing how he just lost the boy here, he wanted to know what had happened to make him say those things and run off like that. "I met up with him… but he seemed distant- what did he face beforehand?"

Aqua hesitated, not sure how to say it. "...I… Roxas…" _He said he wasn't… human… but how can that be? I… I _know_ him, don't I?_

* * *

Ven sighed, seeing his two friends grow even more worried before he began to walk towards them once more. "C'mon, Roxas…" The Nobody hesitated, but only for a moment before he began walking behind Ven, both of them being noticed by Terra and Aqua. "..."

"R-Roxas?" both Terra and Aqua said in disbelief. Both of them were relieved but worried when they saw him. The boy was very quiet and he was wearing that black coat again, something they hadn't seen him in for a while.

Roxas didn't say anything, glancing to the side awkwardly as Ven took a deep breath, staring at the ground. "...Xehanort wants me and Vanitas to fight- to make some sort of _X-Blade_… but… the Master said we _can't_ let that happen, no matter the cost… so he tried to _destroy _me for it."

"X-Blade?" Aqua questioned, frowning in confusion.

"I still don't know exactly what it is…" Ven gulped, grabbing his chest and feeling his heart pumping under his skin. "...But… it scares me to death- even just the _thought_ of it…" _Of me fighting you all… and _killing_ you with this powerful weapon I won't be able to control…_

Roxas finally looked up and said, crossing his arms with a frown, "This entire thing was one big set up…" Then the Nobody looked over at Terra and Aqua. "Ven's really got it hard, thinking he's just a tool for destruction." _Just like I was… less than fifteen minutes ago- and maybe I still am..._

Terra and Aqua's eyes widened, but the older Keyblade Wielder placed a hand on Ven's shoulder, giving a reassuring smile. "Hey relax, Ven- we're here, and we're gonna take care of you. You'll be fine, okay? You're still the little brother I never had!"

Roxas looked away at that. _That's right… tell that to someone who truly deserves it._ Although he thought this, it still hurts…

Terra then smiled at Roxas, ruffling his hair and surprising the Nobody. "And _you_, young man, are the annoying _twin_ of said brother- both of you always getting into trouble." He grinned, but there was a bit of seriousness within his eyes. "We're going to need to have a talk after this, I can tell." _I'm not sure why he ran off, or how he got that black coat back, but I'm not going to take no for an answer- it's hurting him a lot to hide this from us, I can tell!_

Ven took a deep breath, readying himself for what he was about to say. "Guys… I… I might have to fight Vanitas after all. If I… if I do, I-" He hesitated, before saying it a bit louder, "I want you to-"

"The four of us can never be torn apart, all right?" Terra smiled again, gently squeezing Ven's shoulder. "I'll_ always_ find a way to keep us together- no matter what. Even if we have to leave each other for a while… I'll always be there, to bring you all back safe and sound."

Aqua nodded as she bent down and put her hand on Ven's other shoulder, though she hadn't yet said anything to Roxas she gave him a warm if shaky smile.

Ven closed his eyes for a few seconds before he spoke up again. "I'm asking you…" he slowly took their hands off him. "…as a friend… just… put an end to me." _Before I can do any real damage… before I have to fight Vanitas._

Terra and Aqua both gasped at that, but Roxas said, shaking his head, "I'm sorry Ven, that's not something we can do. If anyone's going to put an end to someone, they need to end _me_ first! You still have a whole future ahead of you, no matter what Xehanort said... but _I_ don't."

Terra frowned even more, turning to look at Roxas. "Roxas… what do you mean by that? You_ do_ have a future, just as much as any of us do."

"Ask Aqua… she should know." Roxas answered him, looking at the blue haired woman. "...Isn't that right, Aqua? Nobodies shouldn't even _exist_, let alone have a future."

Terra and Ven blinked, growing even more confused as Aqua winced, remembering what he said before he left. "I… R-Roxas, you-" She paused for a moment before continuing. "… You may be something I haven't seen before… but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a future."

The Nobody merely shook his head, chuckling mirthlessly. "You just don't know what Nobodies are. You know about Heartless, don't you?" Roxas asked them.

Aqua, Ven, and Terra all blinked, slowly nodding. Terra was the one to respond, though. "Of course, they're the creatures of darkness- but they're few and far between, why…?"

"..." Roxas didn't know why, but he just felt like he should tell them everything… at least this way he could stop with the lies. Maybe they'll know better and sever their ties with him. _It's for the best this way._

"Where I come from there are many, many, MANY Heartless, they're even more common than the Unversed we've been seeing." Roxas explained, surprising them. "And the reason that there are so many Heartless there and not so many here… is because… I'm… someone who is from eleven years in the future."

"..." Time seemed to be standing still for a few moments, and Roxas half-wondered if that second time-traveler had shown his face again before Aqua finally spoke. "You're… from… the _future_? But how are you here?" _It… it doesn't make any sense. At least him being a seemingly unknown creature made _sense_\- but… from the _future_?_

"I know it seems impossible, but it's true. Remember when we first met? I kept telling you that I fell down a hole from a mansion and ended up on top of Ven." Roxas explained. "But that hole turned out to be some kind of warp in space and time, and it brought me eleven years into the past and in another world."

"..." Terra was almost as shocked as Aqua, his eyes wide. "I… so… the reason you know abilities we don't, it's because you're from the_ future_?" _I… how is that _possible_?_

Roxas gave a shrug to that. "Maybe, or perhaps it was how I was taught to fight. In my timeline there are no Keyblade Masters, in fact, there are very few people who can wield the Keyblade at _all_. That's why I didn't have a Master to teach me anything- I had to learn on my own on how to use the Keyblade… even if it is fake. And, where I'm from, Heartless are very plentiful, you'd see them everywhere you go unless the world is protected by some strong force of light."

Ven frowned, crossing his arms in confusion. "Heartless are plentiful? …And what do you mean, a _fake_ Keyblade?" _There he goes again, saying his Keyblade is fake…_

"Nobodies are those people who were turned into a Heartless, the stronger a person's will, the more human the Nobody will look. A Nobody doesn't have a heart, because they lost it to the Heartless, and thus doesn't truly feel anything, we can only act like we have hearts. I was in something called Organization XIII… it's a group of human-like Nobodies like me, and we were trying to get hearts of our own. They… they used me to destroy the Heartless since the Keyblade can release the hearts, but I _shouldn't_ be able to use it at all, because I'm a Nobody, a being who should've never existed and is destined to fade away."

* * *

All three Keyblade Wielders gasped, looking completely shocked and confused. Ven frowned, gently touching Roxas's shoulder. "Roxas, you… you're just as real as-"

"Ven." Roxas interrupted as he put his gloved hand on Ven's. "You, Terra and Aqua had spent a long time with me, during our travels together. We've all made special memories during our time together, and for that I was truly grateful and happy, despite not having a heart. But you must understand, a Nobody can't ever truly belong _anywhere_, and after all _this_ happens, I might either fade away, or go back to my original timeline and… fade away _there,_ either way, I was doomed since I came into being. I was hoping if I could sever the bonds between us, it wouldn't hurt as much… but all it did was make me feel worse and… I would've lost it completely if Ven hadn't found me when he did."

Aqua and Terra blinked, glancing at Ven in confusion, but the blond boy continued staring at Roxas as if the boy had said he was really a living plastic toy. "...Roxas… I…" he frowned, before suddenly taking his look-alike's hands into his own. "You might fade away… but… you'd still live on- in our hearts. Maybe… maybe you just haven't met us in your future- there's a lot of possibilities after all! And we'll always remember you, _always_!"

Roxas looked up at them and said, frowning sadly, "Would you? Would you really? … I don't think any of you will. Once I go back or fade away… it would be like I never came to this timeline. Everything about me would be erased here, because… it was meant to happen _without_ me." _I think I finally understand… what that voice, Lea and that younger Xehanort were talking about. Memories are a fragile thing, the voice wasn't worried I would mess it up because all traces of me would be gone when I leave… and Lea didn't seem to worried about it either, and he kept telling me I was sent back here for a reason, that it was _supposed _to happen. The younger Xehanort made it clear that everything that had happened here was meant to happen, which means…everything I did here will be erased. Now I know how Xion must've felt when she realized this._

All three of the Keyblade Wielders in front of Roxas frowned even more at that, troubled by what he was saying, but before they could say anything more, the wind picked up, and all four of them noticed Xehanort slowly walking towards them, with Vanitas at his side.

Roxas glared as the other three glared as well at the two evil Keyblade Wielders approaching them. _And it looks like my time is almost up._

* * *

**DarkFoxKit: Don't you just love those little cliffhangers at the end?**

**Key2DestNE: *suddenly walks back in, covered in cuts* ...Ow. You weren't kidding about those animatronics… ugh…**

**DarkFoxKit: … Uh… I was just trolling you about them… you mean they were actually there?**

**Key2DestNE: … *twitch* YES they were there! Ugh… that balloon boy gives me the creeps… *shudders***

**DarkFoxKit: Hmm… wow… Uh, anyways… you uh, wanna answer some questions?**

**Key2DestNE: Eh… what the heck. *shrugs, nodding* Ultima-owner, quite the interesting theory- I'm not gonna say if it's true or not, but you're right, Young Xehanort is ABSOLUTELY a troll for 'erasing' the fight!**

**DarkFoxKit: amkay, the fact that this story reawakened your interest really flatters us! It makes me proud to know that we reawakened a dormant fan of the series. And yes, Roxas is also my favorite, hence why we're doing a story for him. And we do like to keep our characters complex and interesting so people wouldn't get bored reading about them.**

**Key2DestNE: …. *is blatantly ignoring all the Roxas plushies that are in the room* ...CatLoverx33, yeah, Roxas may be sad when he cuts the bond he has, but he thinks it's for the best. *shrugs* Still, he's learning that it isn't always true! FlightfootKeyseeker, yeah, Xion should come back. Unfortunately for us… she's kinda in the future, so… yeah. No Xi-Xi grief relief for Roxy!**

**DarkFoxKit: Antex, hey! Aww, don't cry… actually, you'd probably flood the entire house by now if you've read this chapter… Key, you got a boat? Heh...**

**Key2DestNE: Nope, sorry- but I do have a submarine! *pulls it out of his pocket… somehow* I also have a Wailmer if you want…**

**DarkFoxKit: Uhh, that's not necessary… a-anyways, I'm glad you enjoyed the battle with Young Xehanort, it was the best place to implement the guy to fight Roxas, especially since we didn't want Roxas changing Eraqus's fate here.**

**Key2DestNE: But yeah, teh feelz was pretty strong for me too. Not bad for a fanfic without any music or anything, huh~? *smirks, winking* As for the Secret Episode and Final Ending, yeah, we'll possibly do that… as you saw, we did Young Xehanort's fight, sooo~**

**DarkFoxKit: We were answering back someone's question about those, let's just say Roxas's story won't end so quickly. Tjthereader99, I thank you for saying more than a generic word or phrase. As for Sora inheriting Roxas's strength and powers, that's a yes, or I believe he did or will.**

**Key2DestNE: *winks* You'll see soon~ Anotherguest, as you saw, Roxas did end up going to the Keyblade Graveyard with Terra… aaand, well, let's just say things are going to get intense. :3 It won't be a Keyblade WAR, but it'll be pretty tough for him!**

**DarkFoxKit: KPGirl… you seem to be one of the biggest supporter for Key2Kitten so far. I don't know if I should be flattered or incredibly frustrated.**

**Key2DestNE: I'M personally flattered! *grins* I'm gonna get you a T-Shirt for being such an awesome shipper~ I'm glad you also love Mondays now, that was the point! As for your Ven theory, again, we won't say but hopefully it'll be clear soon~ *wink* Thanks for the tip, and I'll bring soda to the first club meeting too. *cough* Also, great KH meme~ *huggles her***

**DarkFoxKit: Guest, hahaha, I know how hard it is to keep your inner fanboy from cropping up, I had to deal with Key here when he was spazzing out while we were writing.**

**Key2DestNE: H-hey, it wasn't THAT bad… *pouts* I was able to keep myself in check long enough! And Speculator, good, that means we're doing good plot twists. Still, in hindsight it makes sense doesn't it~? *wink***

**DarkFoxKit: Yeah… poor Eraqus- he was trying so desperately to do what he thinks is right, he ended up making a fatal mistake. And while it's true that the timeline COULD change, that didn't seem to work for Roxas, mostly because he's going out of his way to make SURE it doesn't change.**

**Key2DestNE: ….Technically I don't think Xehanort is Eraqus's brother, but whatever- maybe I missed that bit. As you can tell, both Roxas and Young Xehanort are trying to not change the timeline, so it's clearly going to still end up being the same timeline… perhaps~ ;3 As for the bond… well, as you can tell it's being reforged, but it won't be the same, that's for sure.**

**DarkFoxKit: Roxas himself is trying to break the bonds, hoping that the three would throw him out so it wouldn't be as painful when he has to leave later, but of course, you know that won't be, right? As this chapter just revealed, no way they're leaving him, even if he is a Nobody.**

**Key2DestNE: As for what happens in the Final and Secret episodes… *chuckles mysteriously* Well I'm not going to reveal THAT much just yet- what kind of authors would we be if we revealed all instantly~? **

**DarkFoxKit: Seems we have a last minute reviewer. seikueon, we're happy to see a new reader who was enjoying our story, we just had to address it! I'm so glad you find our story worth reading, and yeah, the fight with Eraqus wasn't ever meant to be avoided, so we used Young Xehanort to keep it in play. As for Lea… weeeell let's just say you're not the only one who was fanboying over him.**

**Key2DestNE: S-shut up! *pouts* But yeah, I'm glad you loved BBS, and yeah, time travel usually involves meddling, so it's pretty ironic you loved it! And don't worry, we still have a little ways to go~**

**DarkFoxKit: And I hope you didn't hurt your teeth when you bit your computer in your excitement.**

**Key2DestNE: But hey, we did well with gaining that giddy feeling again! *grins* Alright, let's see what else is le- *goes back to the reviews, only to find none were left* ….Well then, I think we're all done.**

**DarkFoxKit: Yup, time to go until next week. I'm gonna be out of town, so if I'm unable to update next Monday, don't sweat about it, alright? We'll update it whenever we get the chance.**

**Key2DestNE: …...You know, I could update it FOR you, Fox~ *nudge nudge, wink wink***

**DarkFoxKit: You don't have all the edited documents, you only have the raw one.**

**Key2DestNE: I can still update, dangit! *pouts* ...Well, for now at least, I guess that's all for Chapter 20 er… 19 of Roxas's Story. See you all next chapter! *waves***

**DarkFoxKit: As usual, I'm DarkFoxKit. that's Key2DestNE and we look forward to hearing from you!**


	21. Chapter 20: The Final Four-Terra

**DarkFoxKit: Ooooh boy, I can't believe that we're already on this chapter. Well… think of it as the last chapter of 2014! Too bad we couldn't have finished this story the same time the year is done.**

**Key2DestNE: Well, we could have done that, but it'd require uploading a lot, and I mean a LOT, of chapters, at once- we still have 7 left, after all!**

**DarkFoxKit: But this chapter will be something to remember- after all, it's the first of the 'Final Four' chapter 'series'. What does that mean, you ask? Well I'm sure you'll figure it out as you read.**

**Key2DestNE: *begins vibrating* Hee hee hee~! Oh boy, this is gonna be fuuuuuun~ *gives a wide fanboy-ish grin***

**DarkFoxKit: Oh no, don't you start fanboying again! I had to put him in a freaking CAGE while we were typing this chapter! And the other Final Four chapters too!**

**Key2DestNE: :D What can I say- this is going to be amazing! I hope you all like it as much as I did~ And for now, let's get you to reading! FOX! Do the disclaimer so I can keep fanboying! *begins bouncing off the walls* THESE FIGHTS ARE GOING TO BE AWESOOOOOOME!**

**DarkFoxKit: Geez, don't bite my head off! Oy… anyways, you guys should know by now we don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters, they belong to Square Enix and Disney- now go and read while I try to get this one under control!**

* * *

**Chapter 20: The Final Four- Terra**

After the revelations Roxas had given to the three, each one had their own thoughts about it while Xehanort and Vanitas were slowly walking towards them.

Aqua was shocked, and quite frankly, she felt tired. _One mystery after another… How did Master Eraqus handle _three_ of us…?_ She frowned, glancing over at the Nobody. _He's… from the _future_. The fact that he's somebody without a _heart_ was hard enough to handle- now I have to grasp with the idea that someone who I've grown to care for so much… will just fade away. Roxas… you…_

Terra was angry at how despondent Roxas was acting- as if he was positive of what was to happen. _Roxas… You may be from the future, but we won't forget about you that easily! We're friends… and I won't let someone who's supported me in my darkest hours just be forgotten so easily, no matter how sure you may seem!_

Ven was the one most in shock, as well as the one with the saddest thoughts. _Roxas… you… you never wanted to reveal your past… because it was really our _future_? I… it makes sense now, but… how did he come back here? …Why do I feel like I should _know_ how that happened? _He hesitated, thinking it over again before dismissing it. _…It's probably… just a feeling… I may not even _survive_ this, if Terra and Aqua do as I asked them…_

Roxas himself was also thinking about what they could possibly be thinking. _Now they know the truth… I wonder if that was the right thing to do? … I guess it doesn't matter, since everything about me will be erased here once I go back or fade away. Xion… is this how it felt for you? It's… a horrible feeling… knowing that the bonds you made and everyone you knew will just… disappear along with you._

* * *

But the four soon had to stop their thoughts and focus on the present, because Xehanort was close enough to speak to them, and he threw his arms out to the Keyblades around them. "Behold… These keys were once filled with power, but now they rest along side with their former Masters." Then the creepy old man gave an even bigger smirk when he saw Roxas among them. _Good, I see I didn't need to capture Roxas after all. They're all here, every piece of the puzzle, ready to be placed like good Keyblade Wielders._

He continued to speak, even as the Keyblade Wielders in front of him prepared themselves for battle. "On this barren soil, Keyblades of Light and Darkness were locked in combat… as a great Keyblade War _raged_!" Somehow, despite being a good mile away, they all were able to understand his every word as if he was right in front of them. "Countless Keyblade Wielders gave up their lives- all in search for one, ultimate key, and it will soon belong to _me_!" He smirked, bringing his arm forward and pointing at Ventus. "...X-Blade. It is time for you to forge yourself!"

Roxas glared and gave a slight growl in anger and irritation. "Ven is not a tool, he's a _person_!" he shouted as the other three quickly activated their armor, and in a flash, their armor protected their bodies. Roxas only had his coat, but he didn't care, he's become quite a dangerous weapon himself.

Xehanort merely continued to smirk, and Ven moved first- he began to run towards Xehanort and Vanitas, but Terra quickly pushed him back to where he was and ran forward. _I'll have to make up for my mistakes as best as I can, starting with keeping these two busy!_ He jumped into the air, ready to slam his Keyblade down on the two of them right before the ground literally rose up to meet him! "GAH!"

Roxas gasped as he, Aqua and Ven ran too, but they had to split up as Xehanort reached out a hand and began manipulating the supposedly dead Keyblades around them. A huge wave of Keyblades began moving at them, confusing Roxas.

_What? How could someone control THAT many Keyblades with just a move of his hand?! Xehanort truly _is_ powerful…_ Roxas thought to himself as he saw Vanitas jumping on top of the incoming Keyblades while Aqua was calling out for Ven. Roxas noticed they had become scattered here, Terra was going after Xehanort while Vanitas rode the Keyblades that attacked Ven, who was hit by the front line but managed to get out of the way before he could've been painfully impaled.

Roxas watched the wave of Keyblades and Vanitas, trying to decide where it's going and see if he could stop it. But the waves of Keyblade suddenly went underground and Vanitas jumped off it just as he summoned Void Gear to slash down on Roxas! Roxas gasped as he quickly summoned Oblivion to block it, barely managing to keep his grip on his Keyblade. _So strong…!_

Then the Nobody heard Aqua screaming out and Ven calling out to her. "Aqua!" And after a few seconds, he could hear Aqua shouting out, "Terra!" and a bright light flashing somewhere in the distance and the sky.

Vanitas chuckled darkly, pushing his Keyblade more and forcing the Nobody to jump back. "I suggest you stay out of our way, Roxas- otherwise I might not be able to keep you _alive_ long enough for our final battle. You know how fickle old men can be, right?"

"..." Roxas only glared at him in response, readying his Keyblade for another strike.

"It kills ya doesn't it? How much they care for each other, yet you're just an extra who came along for the ride." Vanitas taunted.

"What's the purpose of this? Apparently you and Ven were meant to fight each other so you could make the X-Blade. Why do you need the X-Blade for?" Roxas demanded, sounding calm despite the situation.

The mask-wearing boy laughed, keeping his Keyblade at his side. "Me? I just want the power it'll bring- the power to overcome_ anyone_ in my way, including Xehanort himself! As for the old man?" He shrugged, seemingly uncaringly. "I think he just wants the same power I do… The power to control _everything_, with a single key- to control Kingdom Hearts itself, and make everyone _bow_ to him."

Roxas gritted his teeth as he thought back on Xemnas's goal… and another trend that he had just noticed… _X-Blade… Xemnas… he's… Xehanort's Nobody, isn't he? It's too much of a coincidence to_ not_ be… but… why is Xemnas so young? … He never cared about getting a new heart, he was using me to create Kingdom Hearts… so he can gain control of it himself. And our names… they all have an 'x' in it, was it because of his obsession with this X-Blade?_

Suddenly, Vanitas glanced up at the sky, to where Xehanort most likely remained. "Hmph… Will you look at that? The old man's calling me." He glanced down at Roxas, smirking evilly under his mask. "Seeya later, Roxas… Try to survive for the right moment, okay? The old man and I have a plan for you too, after all- it'd just break our hearts if you didn't make it to the climax."

Roxas gasped when Vanitas suddenly disappeared, and as if on instinct, he looked around frantically in case the masked boy would suddenly appear right in front or on top of him and slash down his Keyblade. However, that was not the case this time. Roxas looked up in time to see Ven going up there, trying to strike at Xehanort, but Xehanort was too fast, for he dodged Ven's attack and grabbed his head from behind! "VENTUS!"

Roxas didn't know why, but he just felt like Xehanort was going to kill someone very precious to him… The Nobody knew he and Ven had gotten close, but it almost felt like it was Axel and Xion up there, and not just a boy he had apparently met a month ago. "NO!" He began running as fast as he could towards the cliff, seeing Xehanort laughing while Ven was struggling to break free.

Just as he reached the bottom of the cliff, Xehanort covered Ven's body in darkness… and then froze it! Roxas stopped, his own 'non-existing' heart feeling like it was about to shatter. It got even worse as the old man suddenly dropped Ventus off the cliff, the frozen armor helmet easily breaking off and coming apart in pieces as he fell down- even his Keyblade broke slightly! Roxas barely made a dive for it to catch the falling look-alike, and with a SLAM! Both he and the frozen Ven rolled on the ground, crashing into Aqua who was close by.

"Ven! VEN!" Roxas yelled after they stopped rolling, shaking his friend's shoulders worriedly.

Aqua was holding onto the frozen Ven too, "Are you okay?" Ven couldn't answer, all he could do was look at her and Roxas with his mouth slightly open.

Roxas began to become enraged… He had felt rage before, but this was beginning to reach a whole new level. The Nobody glared heatfully at the top of the cliff, where Xehanort was, and he saw Terra on his Keyblade Glider, flying back up there… Apparently he had fallen, but Roxas didn't notice. "He'll _pay_ for this…" Roxas growled angrily, before standing up and rushing for the cliff.

Aqua's head snapped up, and she reached out for him. "W-Wait, Roxas! Don't-" She gasped, seeing him literally running _up the wall_! _How is he doing that…? Do Nobodies have special abilities or something?_

* * *

As soon as the angry Nobody reached the top before Terra did, he slashed down at Xehanort, who disappeared, and like with Ven, tried to grab Roxas, but the Nobody knew better than that- since he had fought Xehanort twice, three times if he counted that younger one. "No you don't!" Roxas summoned Oathkeeper in his other hand and slashed at Xehanort's hand, and he then stabbed his gut with Oblivion, sending the old man back a few feet before landing on his feet.

Xehanort grunted in pain, his eyes wide in shock at the dual wielder before he gave a small, dark chuckle. "Well… seems as if our little friend has hidden _another_ secret from me…" He stood up, just as Terra appeared on the cliff, his armor disappearing. "Admirably done, both of you. I_ knew_ this was a journey you could make, Terra- over the unseen barrier that divides darkness and light. And I was not wrong, now was I?" He spread his arms wide, as if greeting an old friend.

Terra cringed at that before he slowly raised his hand. "My friend, Ven…" He summoned his Keyblade, glaring angrily. "What did you DO to him, Xehanort!?"

Roxas gritted his teeth as he said angrily, "He froze Ven and dropped him down a cliff! Aqua and I barely managed to save him! You know…" He glared even more at Xehanort and Vanitas. "If you wanted to use him, I suggest _not_ killing him off before you do!"

Xehanort chuckled darkly at that, putting one hand behind his back and gesturing with the other. "Well, I had_ expected_ the boy to live- alas, the boy never had the fortitude for such… _strenuous_ trials."

Terra gritted his teeth angrily, understanding the Keyblade Master's hidden sentence, that Ven was dying, as he got into a battle stance. "_XEHANORT_!"

Roxas was the first to act, he didn't waste time with words- he jumped and began firing off these shots of light, as if he had been locking on to them while they were talking. The Nobody shot off his Giga Impact and it hit both Xehanort and Vanitas as they weren't expecting the sudden attack, although, Roxas only used one Keyblade for that, instead of both.

Vanitas scowled, but before he could retaliate, Terra slammed his Keyblade into the boy's back, forcing him to jump back. "Gah!" He grunted in pain, firing off a Dark Fire at the brown-haired man before slashing at Roxas.

Roxas hissed in pain when the Dark Fire hit him, but he was far from being hurt. The Nobody slid on the ground, almost as if it was made of ice because of how fast he went, and began striking Vanitas with both his Keyblades. Because of their rivalry, Vanitas and Roxas felt they should fight each other, and since Terra had a vendetta against Xehanort, it was clear that he wanted the old man to himself.

Vanitas himself, although strained fighting Roxas with both Keyblades, had gotten a lot stronger since their first battle and it was clear Roxas hasn't been slacking either, he was having the time of his life! "Hahahahaha! Oh, this is _fun_\- you've finally stopped holding back, Roxas!" He blocked a strike from Oblivion, jumping into the air to dodge the other and using his Keyblade to slam into Roxas's back! "What's wrong- you finally realized how much is at stake?"

"What I don't get…" Roxas began to say as he stood up from that strike. "Is why _you're_ doing this. You told me you just wanted the power, but… you came from Ventus. I know you're his darkness, but… why would you want something like that? If there's anything I've learned during this journey, it's that darkness doesn't necessarily mean you're evil. You're still Ventus, just… a separate entity." Surprisingly, Vanitas paused at this… Nobody's ever spoken to him like that before, not even Xehanort.

"..." The masked boy scowled under his mask, hastily holding his Void Gear back up. "S-shut up! You don't know _anything_ about me, Roxas… All I need from you is a good fight- so just do your job and we'll be finished with you, you useless Nobody!"

"Oh? So I take it that you know of me now?" Roxas asked as he avoided another slash and struck back with Oathkeeper, using Triple Firaga. "And when did you learn I was a Nobody? They don't supposedly exist right now."

Vanitas smirked, using Dark Thunder and striking Roxas dead-on before performing a combo on the stunned boy. "Heh… You don't need to know- but we know all about you now!" _Thankfully, that old man was listening in during their most recent conversation, otherwise I couldn't taunt him…_

Roxas glared, quickly recovering "Just like you claim I don't know anything about _you_… you don't know anything about _me_!"

* * *

"Roxas! Look out!" Terra suddenly called with urgency, confusing both Keyblade Wielders.

Roxas didn't have time to react when Xehanort appeared behind him and grabbed the Nobody from behind! "Wah!? LET ME GO!"

"Well, isn't _this_ a familiar situation, eh Terra!?" Xehanort taunted the older Keyblade Wielder with a sinister smirk, holding Roxas's head with one hand like he did with Ventus earlier.

The brown-haired Keyblade Wielder frowned worriedly, rushing Xehanort and suddenly disappearing! _I won't let Roxas be put in the same situation as Ven!_

Xehanort blinked in surprise, looking around, before Terra appeared and slashed at his arm, forcing the man to let go of Roxas! "Gah! …Heh… It appears you still care about him, even while knowing what he truly is now!"

Roxas hissed as he hit the ground really hard, and the boy gripped both his Keyblades with his hands as he slowly stood up, but stumbled a bit. Xehanort was weakening him while he was holding on to him, which was why he couldn't summon those beam and pillar of lights to attack him and make him let go. The boy panted, his eyes blurry a bit, but he quickly tried to regain his composure as he heard Terra shouting in anger.

"XEHANORT! You will NOT hurt anyone I care for EVER AGAIN!" He slashed at the old Keyblade Master, before firing off a Thunder.

Vanitas smirked as he teleported and slashed down on Roxas while Terra was busy with Xehanort, causing the older Keyblade Wielder to scream worriedly, "ROXAS!"

"Ugh…" Roxas glared as he held up Oathkeeper. "HEAL!" He managed to cast Curaga on himself and he quickly stood up. "Don't worry about me, Terra! Just focus on the battle!" He quickly blocked another incoming Vanitas attack, continuing to speak. "I can handle myself- you just focus on Xehanort!"

Terra frowned, but he nodded reluctantly, pulling out his Wayfinder. "Roxas!" he called out, and Roxas blinked, feeling a semi-familiar tug- except he was on the opposite end of it.

Vanitas frowned under his mask, slashing at Roxas, who blocked it with both Keyblades. "You know, that stupid connection of yours really irritates me… What's it called- a D-Link?" He scoffed. "What kind of stupid name is _that_?"

"Shut up!" Roxas snapped as he slashed back with his deadly combo at the masked boy. "It's the bond that helps us become stronger! Even though it's a bond that will be erased soon… it still helps us! Maybe you'd _know_ that if you made some bonds yourself!"

Terra's Keyblade began shining with light, causing Xehanort to hiss in pain as he began using it. Terra was surprised at how fast and light his combos were, almost similar to Ven's D-Link but with a different attribute, and it almost felt like he had two Keyblades despite only using one.

Vanitas flinched at that, but he recovered from the remark, growling furiously. "Shut up, you little…! I don't need _bonds_\- unlike you, I can rely on my own instead of using someone else's power to fight!"

Roxas slide dashed behind Vanitas and slashed him so hard that the masked boy of darkness flew a few feet in the air. Vanitas growled as he teleported himself behind Roxas to do that same trick with him. The Nobody turned and parried the attack, but Vanitas smirked as he began to electrify his Keyblade, allowing the Dark Thundara to move onto Roxas's Keyblades and his body, zapping him.

"ARGH!" Roxas yelped in pain, giving Vanitas the opportunity to kick him and then slash him with Void Gear. The Nobody quickly began rolling on the ground before he summoned some pillars of light to attack Vanitas, mostly to keep him away so he can get back to his feet. Roxas could hear Terra still fighting Xehanort- good, at least this will keep the old coot from grabbing him again.

Vanitas hissed in pain, feeling the light burn both his skin and the suit he was wearing before he quickly backed away. "Hmph… So you use light to attack, huh?" He scowled, keeping his Keyblade in a defensive position. "Interesting- looks like you've found my weakness, Roxas…"

Roxas didn't attack him though, instead he calmly walked over to him. "... Vanitas… this… Because I'm a Nobody… I understand better than anyone else here what you're going through, maybe not entirely, but we're in a similar situation. We were both split from our original selves, and we're both destined to merge back with them. If you want to finish this, fine, but I should at least give you a chance to think about it first." It seemed like the three Keyblade Wielders had rubbed off on Roxas more than he thought, normally he'd just finish the enemy off whenever he could.

Vanitas scowled, slashing at Roxas with Void Gear and quickly standing up. "I don't need your _charity_, Roxas! I just want a good fight, and that. Is. _It_! Don't act like you're trying to be _nice_ to me!"

Roxas groaned a bit from the slash, but he didn't fall, instead he said, "... I only wanted to give you a second chance, Vanitas, but if you don't want it… fine, it's on your head then." The Nobody was about to charge at Vanitas with both his Keyblade, when he suddenly felt Xehanort's darkness fluctuate around him, and this caught him off guard because it was so strange and sudden. "Wah?" Before he knew it, though, something or someone grabbed hold the back of his head, _again_!

* * *

Roxas growled as he tried to hit the person that had grabbed him again, but he suddenly felt weak as darkness surrounded his body. The black coat couldn't protect him from this darkness because it was coming from within, though technically it was coming from Xehanort, he was transferring it through his head. The Nobody could do nothing but flail around, and his Keyblades disappeared from his hands due to his weakness.

Terra gasped, seeing Xehanort holding Roxas by his head a second time. "Roxas!" He growled in irritation, his grip on his Keyblade tightening. "Xehanort, let him _go_!" Despite his fury, the young man was hesitant to actually run forward and attack him, since if he missed this time, Roxas would be hit instead!

"Why would I do that? It's always essential to take hold of one's opponent's weaknesses and use it against them. It appears you still care for this boy despite knowing what he is and his fate." Xehanort said with a smirk, keeping Roxas weak so the boy couldn't retaliate.

Roxas felt his body growing numb as his struggles slowed down to a stop… now he was just hanging there. _No! I can't be THIS weak! I have to… I have to DO something! _"T-Terra… d-don't worry… about me… p-please… a-attack him!"

The brown-haired man frowned, but he hesitated again, making Xehanort laugh. "Ah, Terra… You should know by now to _attack_ when given the chance!" He sighed, shaking his head mockingly. "Alas, you still do not know the power of darkness to it's greatest extent…" Suddenly, a cold feeling began to cover Roxas, and he shuddered. "Allow me to show you firsthand!"

"What are you doing!?" Terra demanded in horror, his eyes wide in shock.

Xehanort only smirked and laughed as Roxas felt the cold becoming stronger and stronger, to the point it was reaching unbearable hypothermia levels! The Nobody felt his body freezing over, turning into ice, and he let out a gasp as he felt Xehanort freezing him like he did with Ven earlier with Dark Blizzard!

Xehanort suddenly flash-froze the Nobody, making his coat grow hard and brittle around the boy. "Do you see, Terra? This is only a smidgen of the power you could possess, if you simply _gave in_!"

"L-let him go! XEHANORT, LET HIM GO, _NOW_!" Terra yelled in anger, beginning to charge, but Xehanort held the frozen Nobody in front of him, making the younger man stop in his tracks.

"Ah-ah-ah- you wouldn't want to hurt poor little Roxas here, now do you?" Xehanort smirked evilly before turning to Vanitas. "Now then… Go take what Ventus owes you, and take Aqua's life!"

"..." Vanitas glared under his mask, but he merely nodded, turning and running for the cliff's edge before jumping off! _When I get the X-Blade under my control and Xehanort's plan is complete, the _first_ thing I'll do is fight that man myself! I am _sick and tired_ of hearing that old man telling me what to do!_

* * *

Roxas began to regret what he done, letting Vanitas go like that. _No! How could I have been so _stupid_!? I should've finished him off when I had the chance! Terra… come on, please forget about me and go after Vanitas!_

Terra glared, he was torn between stopping Vanitas himself and making sure Roxas was safe- ultimately, though, he decided to stay. He looked around, trying to find a way to distract Xehanort long enough to get Roxas out of his grip.

However, Xehanort paused, glancing at Roxas thoughtfully, still wondering why the Nobody looks so much like Ventus, it had puzzled him since he first laid eyes on the future boy. "...Hmm… is it possible…?" He suddenly turned the frozen boy around, so he could look into Roxas's eyes. "..." The old man began to chuckle, before it erupted into a fully-blown evil laugh, confusing both Terra and Roxas. "Well well well, you seem to be just _full_ of surprises, dear Roxas!" With that said, he began to walk over to the cliff's edge. "Perhaps I was a bit hasty in letting Vanitas leave so soon… here- you may as well _join_ him!"

Terra's eyes widened in horror, and he charged at the old man. _No… don't tell me he isn't…!_ "ROXAS!" He was too late though- Xehanort let his hand open, and Roxas began falling down the cliff, just like Ventus had. "NO!" He quickly teleported himself, using Sonic Shadow to grab Roxas just before he could fall all the way. Thankful that Roxas was okay, though still frozen, he teleported them both back on top of the cliff, glaring angrily at Xehanort.

Roxas wanted to demand Xehanort why did he do that, but he still couldn't move his mouth. _What did he see? Why did he suddenly just laugh like that and dropped me!?_

Xehanort scowled, but he smirked a bit, gesturing to the ground below, where Vanitas was approaching the still downed Ven. "Do you see how powerless you are to save them? Savor that rage and despair- let it _empower_ you, my boy!"

Terra gently put Roxas down and cast a Reflectaga barrier around him, hoping it'll keep the frozen Nobody safe from Xehanort's grasp this time. "I'm sorry Roxas… you'll just have to stay put until the battle's over." Then he glared at the man who had frozen his friends, darkness literally covering him. "Xehanort… Was my Master- no… My _father_, Eraqus, not enough for you!? You will _pay_\- leave my friends _alone_!"

Roxas trembled from within the ice, trying to get it to melt faster. Terra stood up and walked over to Xehanort, ready to finish this once and for all. The younger man and the older man were clashing, but the battle itself didn't really last too long… Roxas noticed that the way Xehanort battled, it wasn't as good as when he battled against Roxas those two other times, it was like he _wanted_ Terra to beat him.

* * *

Xehanort groaned in pain, going down on one knee and using his Keyblade to support himself as he gasped for breath. As soon as Terra came close to him, though, a huge beam of light appeared behind the young man, making his eyes light up. "There, you see!? The X-Blade has been forged!" _I suppose Vanitas _didn't_ need the Nobody after all- he did just fine with Ventus…_

Roxas gasped suddenly, as if feeling like a very close connection to him was being strained and shattering. He groaned as he felt a pain in his chest, almost making him cough despite being frozen. _Wh-what's… what's happening? Why does it hurt so much?_

Terra frowned and narrowed his eyes as if not sure if he should take his eyes off him. Then the younger man slowly turned and gasped when he saw the bright light behind him! "No! _VEN_!" _I have to go save him… I don't know what happened down there, but I won't let my friend be trapped and helpless while I fight over a petty grudge!_

Before the brown-haired man could go down, however, Xehanort got back up on his feet, pointing his Keyblade at… his own chest! "And now, Terra, it is time for the final union!" He lowered his Keyblade into his own chest, and it began to glow. "At last, our moment is here…" Suddenly, Xehanort's Keyblade stopped glowing as a small orb appeared and the old man himself began to glow! "Out with the old and brittle vessel, and in with a younger, much stronger_ new_ one!"

Roxas was able to thaw enough to move a little bit, his mouth is able to speak again. "TERRA! RUN!" he quickly yelled, seeing what the old coot was up to. _No… don't tell me… is _this_ why he's so young in my timeline!?_

Terra could only stare in wonder and worry as he watched the orb of light floating up, but he shook his head. "No Roxas, I won't leave you!" he said to the still frozen Nobody.

"Forget about me! I told you I was destined to disappear anyway! But you have to get out of here! Hurry while there's still time!" Roxas yelled urgently.

Xehanort continued to speak, ignoring their conversation as the orb of light flew higher and higher. "I swore I would survive and be there to see what lay _beyond_ the Keyblade War! And now, it is _your_ darkness that will be the ark that sustains me!" With that, the orb suddenly flew back down, aiming right for Terra's own chest!

"NO! TERRA!" Roxas screamed out as Terra activated his armor just before the orb zipped into his chest.

The armor appeared around Terra, but Roxas could easily sense the sickening darkness merging with Terra. "No… please… don't…" Roxas's voice felt weak, then he saw Xehanort's old body disappearing into light, how ironic.

Terra… no… Xehanort? … _Terranort_ discarded the armor and let them fall into pieces on the ground and dropped Terra's Keyblade. The man now had silver hair, and when he spoke, it was in an all-too-familiar voice. "...This heart belongs again to darkness. All worlds begin darkness, and also end. The heart is no different… Darkness sprouts within it- it grows, _consumes_ it. Such is it's nature! In the end… _Every_ heart returns to the darkness whence it came." He gave an evil grin, summoning Xehanort's Keyblade and beginning to walk towards Roxas. "And as for _you_… you still hold a purpose far beyond expected, I can tell."

The frozen Roxas could only stare, his horror wouldn't allow him to move even though he was still frozen, his mind unable to accept what just happened to Terra. Terranort bent down to him, looking into the Nobody's eyes once again as if to confirm it a second time before he smirked. "Yes… it seems I was correct in what I had suspected. Roxas… Bearer of two Keyblades… you have-"

"RELEASE TERRA'S HEART NOW!" Roxas suddenly screamed in pure rage as his body broke through the ice that was holding him. Without fully realizing it himself, Roxas shot up and the ground below him began to create a circle around him, shooting out bright lights. The lights suddenly flashed as the Nobody symbols appeared on top, circling slowly as if menacingly. Roxas gritted his teeth as his body began floating and glowing along with the lights around him. "Command Style: LIGHT RAGE!"

Roxas raised his Keyblades as they shot out beams of light that surrounded the entire area, changing it into a twilight sky with dark clouds, and suddenly, Roxas began shooting orbs of light constantly at Terranort!

The man's eyes widened in shock, and he quickly began running away from the giant orbs of light! _Gah… I can't believe that brat still has enough energy to fight me, after all this time! And when did he learn a Command Style!?_

Roxas didn't stop firing the orbs as his anger had reached a new peak that he didn't think was possible, with or without a heart. The orbs of light he's firing represents the orbs of light he had seen during the exam when he first came to this timeline. The twilight sky represents where he came from, and the dark clouds represent all the darkness he had encountered. The Nobody symbols on top of the lights that were surrounding him represented his status as a Nobody, and the symbol on the floor represented his bond that could never be broken, and the lights themselves... they represent his friends- not just Terra, Aqua and Ven, but everyone he's gained a connection and a bond with. They all stood together, giving him the power he needed to keep fighting.

Finally, the orbs slammed into Terranort, forcing him to stop and groan in agony at the hit. "Ugh!" _The one Command Style he could learn, and it had to be one involving _light_ energy!_

Unfortunately for Roxas, he eventually tired out. The twilight sky soon vanished and he fell back down to the earth below, panting in exhaustion. The Nobody grunted as he tried to lift his head, knowing the danger wasn't over yet, but his tired body was too slow to react when Terranort managed to recover himself, and he grabbed Roxas's coat chest, pulling the boy up and letting his feet dangle.

Terranort scowled, tightening his grip on the coat. "...On second thought… you're too much of a hassle as it is. I'll leave you here, until you die from exhaustion." With that, he tossed Roxas to the side, and the boy roughly landed behind Terranort's discarded armor. _Vanitas has already accomplished his mission- I don't need to worry about another possible threat…_

"..." Roxas slowly lifted his head, looking at the discarded armor. "T-Terra… I know… you're still there… you still… want to fight…" He lifted up his hand and put it on the helmet, his hand glowing with some of the light energy he had left. "Please… you must… fight him… you can't… let him escape… Terra… please… GET UP AND FIGHT!"

Terranort ignored the boy's desperate screaming, continuing to walk away, before orange chains suddenly appeared around the cliff's top and blocked all three of them in! He paused, glancing around in surprise. "...What?" _I feel another's presence here… No way… It _couldn't_ be! _He quickly turned around to see the armor somehow reformed and whole. Terranort growled, gritting his teeth in anger. "Your body submits- your heart succumbs… So why does your mind _resist_?!" He slashed the ground in anger, going into a battle-ready stance.

"...Terra…" Roxas said with a small smile.

The armor couldn't speak as there was no body in there- instead it picked up Roxas and looked over on the edge where Ven was, who seems to be standing there for some reason, holding onto something… Roxas couldn't quite see what it was. The Nobody frowned, glancing up at Terra's armor in confusion. "What are you doing?"

The armor seemed to be looking at Roxas, and if it could speak, Roxas was sure it would be Terra apologizing to him before it suddenly threw him off the cliff! "WAH!? Terra!?" Roxas turned back in time to see a bright barrier surrounding the entire top of the cliff, the small hole the armor had tossed him out of disappearing! "TERRA!"

* * *

**DarkFoxKit: *sniffles* Oh Terra… he had to do it… and I guess you guys could see that we had Roxas help the armor to move, we thought that'd be pretty clever.**

**Key2DestNE: *is bouncing all over the walls of a cage* OH MY GOSH THAT FIGHT WAS SO EPIC- ROXAS VERSUS VANITAS, TERRA VERSUS XEHANORT! IT. WAS. AWESOOOOOOOME! :D ...My cheeks are hurting from smiling so much. BUT I DON'T CARE!**

**DarkFoxKit: *grumbles* You can imagine the nightmare I had to go through of keeping this guy on a leash during this! Yo Fanboy! Calm the heck down so we can get to the questions!**

**Key2DestNE: Too bad, I can't calm down- but I CAN do the reviews with you~! *winks* CatLoverx33, it's good that we're making you feel so much- and I particularly hope you enjoyed this fight too AND ARE FANBOYING AS MUCH AS ME! *shakes the bars of the cage wildly***

**DarkFoxKit: FlightfootKeyseeker, ah, that's an excellent question you got there. What DOES make a fake Keyblade to the real ones? Well, as far as we can tell, the so-called fake ones seems to be just as effective as the real ones as shown by Xion. My guess is that if the Keyblade WAS fake, they wouldn't work like Keyblades at all. So what makes the 'fake' any different?**

**Key2DestNE: Possibly that they're unable to truly 'unlock' someone's heart like Sora's presumably can, or that they can't lock a World's heart like, again, Sora's can. So Roxas feels like he's a complete faker, which is tearing him up so much. Uchu no akuma no kami *takes a deep breath after the name*, yes, it IS an epic chapter incoming- and I believe you now mean epic chapterS, plural~! As for the sequel… well, we're not sure yet- after all, how can you top something so AWESOME!? *begins munching on the bars to keep himself occupied***

**DarkFoxKit: KPGirl1227, nice! I hope you enjoy the game! Just don't be like Key is right now… I was so giddy when I first played it back in 2009 when it was first released, Roxas is my favorite KH character after all~ And yeah, I noticed that-**

**Key2DestNE: XI-XI FOR THE WIIIN! :3**

**DarkFoxKit: …. *sprays Key with water* Bad Key, don't interrupt the fox when she's speaking! ANYWAYS-**

**Key2DestNE: Aww, but you're a KITTEN. Yeah, I can't wait for that time that Roxas smacks off Vanitas's mask too, and until then, I hope you enjoy the ship *cough* I've already gotten an executive to sign off on our ship :3 *cough*, and there's going to be plenty of awesomeness TO BE HAAAAD! *noms the bars more***

**DarkFoxKit: KEY! *pounces on Key and messes up the camera…. camera comes back on* Ahem… excuse me, that was unlady-like of me.**

**Key2DestNE: I believe you mean unkitte-**

**DarkFoxKit: *holds a shotgun at his head* Ahem, anyways, Antex… I'm very glad we got a boat ready! I hope the feelz didn't kill you! And yeah, I've always seen Ven as the more positive brother between him and Roxas, and someone to always be there to help when you're drowning in darkness, ahem, a.k.a. depression and insanity. And of course they care, even though it hasn't been long, they've already come to see Roxas as the brother Ventus never had. As for the Wailmer… ask Key.**

**Key2DestNE: Here ya go, Antex! *tosses a Poke Ball at the Zoroark's head* Don't worry, it won't be electrocuted, so you'll be safe from the short-circuiting items! THE FEELS ARE SO STRONG, I'M SO EXCITED, OH MY GOSH THIS IS SO COOL! *is nearly breaking through the bars of the cage he was in by this point* thekhfan, I'm glad you like this story too, since it is SO AWESOME! Obviously we're giving you a shout-out now, but yeah, we did everything PERFECTLY. But you know what this needs? MORE XI-XI!**

**DarkFoxKit: Well nothing's truly perfect in the world we live in, but I am flattered that you like it so much you see it that way. I'm glad we could make you happy with this story! I mean seriously, nobody else had done something like this- the closest I could find was an OC going into the game and becoming too much of a Mary Sue later on.**

**Key2DestNE: Speculator, yeah, they DID make up somewhat, and yet Roxas clearly is just going to try and survive this! EPIC BOSS FIGHT MUSIC TIME! *breaks through the cage bars and begins bouncing off the walls again* THIS IS SO AWESOOOOOME!**

**DarkFoxKit: Um… Well I never knew those two were close, or like brothers… I think this is more of a Key answer here.**

**Key2DestNE: Friendship is AMAZING. The feels are made even STRONGER because of it, so yeah, thanks for the advice. *gets right up in the camera* PREPARE FOR THE ULTIMATE BATTLES OF THE CENTURY!**

**DarkFoxKit: And Merry Christmas to you too as well as a Happy New Year. *looks at script* Well Key, I think that's it for this chapter, anything else you want to say to the fans before we leave for the year?**

**Key2DestNE: Nope, my fanboy's pretty much burnt out. BUT NEXT WEEK IS GOING TO BE EVEN BETTER, JUST YOU WAIT! :D To quote ultima-owner, the fight will be GLORIOUS. GLORIOUS, I TELL YOU! *begins shaking DarkFoxKit***

**DarkFoxKit: Okay! *shuts Key's mouth and forces him to stop shaking her* We get it! It's exciting, now stop before you shake the living daylights out of me! I'm gonna have to bring some tranquilizer darts next Monday…**

**Key2DestNE: :3 Until next time, then, I'm Key2DestNE, this is DarkFoxKitten, together we make Key2Kitten, and we'll see you all next week! *goes to turn off the camera***

**DarkFoxKit: Oh, NO you didn't! That was MY line! *shoves Key away from the camera* Ahem! … I am DarkFoxKIT, he's the knuckleheaded little brother who won't stop calling me 'kitten', and we look forward to hearing from you!**


	22. Chapter 21: The Final Four- Ventus pt 1

**DarkFoxKit: Wow, glad we were able to make a lot of fans happy with the Terra fight last chapter!**

**Key2DestNE: "Happy"? They were going nuts- their inner fanboys/fangirls were bouncing off the walls too, I could tell! *grins***

**DarkFoxKit: Yeah, I've noticed. Well hopefully this next one will put you on the edge of your seats! Now, unlike the other Final Fours, this one was split into three parts- though to be honest maybe it could've been split in two, but Key here insisted we needed to split it three ways.**

**Key2DestNE: Hey, I'm not the one who insisted on writing so much of the scene… *pouts* I just wanted it so that you guys could read it better…**

**DarkFoxKit: Of course that means Part 1 is the shortest one out of the three parts, but eh, I'm sure you guys would still enjoy it. As you could tell from the title, it's with Ventus now, and yes, we are going to have Roxas join in all three battles- wouldn't be a 'grand finale' if we didn't.**

**Key2DestNE: *gives a bright grin* Ohoho, I think you guys are reeeally going to enjoy this! No more spoilers- Fox and I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the story, this is just our telling of it. NOW LET THE FANFIC BEGIN!**

* * *

**Chapter 21: The Final Four- Ventus- Part 1**

Thankfully Roxas managed to turn himself upright and landed on his feet, he looked up at the cliff once more before shaking his head and looking at Ven… or… whom he assumed was Ven, something was definitely wrong though, Roxas could feel the heavy darkness within him, crushing the light. _Ven? … No… he and Vanitas… they must've merged! What's that in his hand?_ Roxas narrowed his eyes, trying to analyze the thing in his hand. _It… it looks like a Keyblade, but… why does it have two Kingdom Keys crossing each other like that? …Wait… _that's _the X-Blade!?_

Roxas, for some reason, had a quick flashback when he gained two Kingdom Keys and crossed them for a split second before they transformed into Oblivion and Oathkeeper. The Nobody quickly shook his head, frowning worriedly. _Oh this is bad… Where's Aqua? I don't think he's noticed me yet… maybe I better go find Aqua, make sure she's okay first._

As if right on cue, Roxas's head perked up, hearing a familiar blue-haired girl. "Ven! Roxas!" She ran up to them both, smiling in relief. "You're both safe… I was so worried!" Then she paused, putting her hands on her knees. "...Ven?"

Roxas would be cursing right now if the situation wasn't so dire. "No Aqua! Stay away from him!" the Nobody quickly yelled as he grabbed her shoulder, and then he saw another figure with her… _Mickey? When did _he_ get here?_

The mouse blinked, noticing the X-Blade in Ven's hands just before said boy glanced up with yellow eyes, smirked, and tried to stab Aqua! Thankfully, both Roxas and Mickey blocked the attack, pushing a startled Aqua back. "That's _not_ Ven, Aqua!" Mickey stated, keeping his star-like Keyblade up and ready.

"What?" Aqua frowned, looking at 'Ven'. _But he looks just like him- armor and everything!_

Ven looked up and he gave a very sinister smirk as his armor transformed into a familiar looking suit that Vanitas wore, and his eyes were yellow instead of blue. Roxas glared, his hand clenching into a fist. "Vanitas, he took Ven over!"

When Ven spoke, it sounded quite odd, almost like both Ventus and Vanitas were speaking at the same time. "Correct- I am _not_ Ventus. His heart has become a part of _mine_ now." He held up the X-Blade, continuing to speak. "This X-Blade will open a door- one that leads to _all _worlds! Then, Keyblade-bearing warriors will flock here from each and every one of them, to battle for the light within Kingdom Hearts! And _just_ like the legend says, the Keyblade War will begin!"

"Shut up! I'm sick of your nonsense! Give Ven his heart back, right now!" Aqua demanded as she gripped her Keyblade tightly, Mickey doing the same.

Roxas stood in front of them, frowning "Hold on. Vanitas, you've rejoined with Ven, right? And yet you're still going to go through with this? Surely you know what it's like now, to have a complete heart!"

Ventus-Vanitas scowled, hearing Roxas speak. He glared at the boy, his grip on the X-Blade tightening. "Shut. UP. I'm sick of hearing you acting like I'm anything but what I am- like I'm a _goody-goody_ like all of _you_!" He got into his battle stance, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "You know what, forget the old man's plans- I'm taking you out right here, _right now_!"

Roxas only glared right back, not budging an inch. "You suffered a lot, and the old coot only made it worse, he brainwashed you! He made you think you needed to do all this just so you wouldn't have to suffer anymore! _That's_ why you were loyal to him despite hating him with every fiber of your being! You hate being weak and you hate others who _think _you're weak, so you attack anyone who says you are, even if they just give you their sympathy." The Nobody seemed to hit a nail on the head there, and yet he hadn't summoned his Keyblades yet.

Ventus-Vanitas started to growl, shaking his head. "SHUT UP! You don't know me- you don't have to act like I'm that _pitiful_!" He began to glow with a yellow light, getting ready to attack. "Words are cheap and you know it- if you want to prove I'm _weak_, then try to defeat me!" He smirked, gesturing with the X-Blade. "With _this_ in my hands, you'll never even stand a chance now!"

Roxas summoned his Kingdom Key instead of Oblivion or Oathkeeper, and he summoned another Kingdom Key to his hand, surprising Aqua, Mickey and even Ventus-Vanitas. "That X-Blade looks a lot like these two Kingdom Keys I have. I have to wonder why that is, don't you?"

Ventus-Vanitas stared in shock before he gave a dark smirk. "Heh, it seems like you're just as surprising as ever, Roxas. Alright then- if you want to try and stop me with those look-alikes, then go ahead. But this won't be an easy fight for you, it'll make those other fights we had seem like _sparring_ matches compared to me now!"

"I wasn't planning on using these to battle you." Roxas said as he crossed the two Kingdom Keys together and, in a flash of dark and bright light, they transformed into Oathkeeper and Oblivion. "If you want to fight to the end, very well- but you've been a good opponent."

* * *

Aqua and Mickey looked at Roxas, as if wondering why he was talking to Vanitas when he knew it would be a lost cause. "Roxas, did you-" Mickey began to say.

"It's nothing, Mickey. Let's just finish this." Roxas interrupted.

Vanitas smirked, suddenly charging them. "I agree!" Before any of them could react, he slashed at Mickey, forcing the mouse back and away from Aqua and Roxas! "But first, I'll deal with the _actual_ threats- the mouse can be baited with cheese when I'm done."

"Hey!" Mickey snapped, insulted. "I resent that!"

Aqua quickly cartwheeled out of the way as Ventus-Vanitas smirked and he began slashing around the area with amazing speed, Aqua couldn't dodge it as she was hit, and Roxas barely managed to block it! Then Vanitas went underground, chasing after Roxas. The Nobody quickly began running seeing how fast he was coming and how much damage it did to him back in Neverland. Roxas jumped and began gliding, but then he saw Vanitas went after Aqua.

"Aqua! Look out!" Roxas called, stretching a hand towards her.

It was too late, the female Keyblade Master didn't have time to react when Ventus-Vanitas came out from underground and pierced her armor! "AQUA!" Roxas called for her. _No! I don't want to lose her like I lost Terra!_

Ventus-Vanitas smirked, slashing at her, but thankfully the Keyblade Master blocked the slash, groaning in pain. "What's wrong, Aqua? Too worried to attack me, to hurt your precious Ventus?"

Aqua glared at him, but Roxas noticed Mickey was sneaking up on the boy. "You can act tough, Vanitas, but don't get cocky." She smirked a bit, confusing the boy. "After all, you never know what might happen!"

"What do you- AGH!" Mickey slammed his Keyblade into Ventus-Vanitas's side, pushing a bit of light into the edge of the blade and forcing the boy to quickly retreat.

Roxas ran over to Aqua, and he held out one of his hands after dismissing one of the Keyblades. "Do you need some help?"

Aqua gave him a chuckle as she said, taking his hand, "Some help would be nice."

"Yeah, and Aqua? I'm sorry about running off on you like that before. I guess I just felt like I had to deal with this by myself." Roxas said as he helped her up, feeling a tingle go through his arm, Aqua feeling the same thing.

The blue-haired woman gave a soft smile, nodding. "I understand now, Roxas- just remember, we'll always be there for you."

Ventus-Vanitas mock-gagged, shaking his head in disgust. "Oh please- when he's gone, you might not even _remember_ him! You both make me _sick_ with your cutesy little friendship."

Roxas glared and said, "Well Vanitas, even though I'm a Nobody and destined to disappear from everyone's memory here, at least I_ have_ friends!"

The X-Blade wielder scoffed, charging at Roxas and slashing at him. "Like I _need_ friends- they're not going to give me power, they'll only get in my way! Look at what I did all on my own- I made the _ultimate_ weapon!"

"The ultimate weapon was made from both you and your light side, and believe it or not, it was also_ because _of your lightside's friends that he got as strong as he did in order to forge that X-Blade for you." Roxas argued.

"Roxas, why are you trying to talk to him? You know he won't listen." Aqua said with a frown.

"Because Vanitas is a lot like me, only he's made with darkness. Now that he and Ven fused, maybe he could be something more than he is now." Roxas explained.

Ventus-Vanitas growled angrily, suddenly teleporting away! Aqua and Roxas both quickly dodged as he slammed down at them from above, casting Blizzard on his weapon as he did. "SHUT UP! Just _fight_\- no more trying to convince me of me being 'good'! I_ know_ what I am, and that's that!"

"You don't have to be 'good'! You just have a chance at life, so why destroy it?" Roxas said back to him, but he summoned his other Keyblade again before he stabbed at Ventus-Vanitas and began comboing him. "I'd give just about _anything_ to be what you are now!" Then he barely dodged a swing from the X-Blade, but he didn't dodge the next one when Ventus-Vanitas teleported above him. "Gah!" Roxas hissed as he jumped back to avoid another nasty hit.

Ventus-Vanitas smirked, jumping after Roxas and slashing at the Nobody. "Well, too bad I'm not _you_! I'm not a _shell_ of a person- I'm Vanitas! Pure darkness, the most powerful Keyblade Wielder in existence, and the one who _doesn't _need a 'chance at life'!"

"I think you once wanted one." Roxas said quietly before he rolled into the air and light pillars began appearing around them. Aqua and Mickey looked around in wonder as Roxas caused the lights to begin scrambling around Ventus-Vanitas.

* * *

"What is this?" Mickey asked, frowning in confusion. "I've never seen this kind of thing before!"

"It's Roxas's Command Style, or at least it looks like it." Aqua explained. "He's the only one I know that uses light like this." _Did… he actually make his own Command Style? Within a day?_

With these lights hitting Vanitas, or making him trying to dodge, it was next to impossible to focus on Roxas, who dived at him and began comboing with both his Keyblades. "WIND!" Roxas created a big tornado around them. "Aqua! Mickey!"

Aqua nodded, glancing at the mouse by her side "Let's do this, Mickey!" She and Mickey went back to back as they began firing off light energies of themselves, hitting Ventus-Vanitas within the tornado Roxas created. Then the twister faded and Roxas landed on top of both of them as they began spinning around, still firing off those lights and Roxas joined in with those pillar of lights, causing them to spin around, making them faster.

Ventus-Vanitas grunted in pain, feeling the light sear his skin and make it a bit raw to the touch, but he quickly got out of the range of the attack, frowning in irritation._ Hmph- they're still strong… but they're no match for my X-Blade! I could defeat them at any time- it's just fun to toy with them. _He smirked, firing off a Dark Firaga.

Roxas easily destroyed it with Oblivion, it was just like when he had fought with Riku… the ADULT Riku in HIS time. "Fight fire with fire then. FIRE!" Roxas shot off some fireballs back at him.

Aqua joined in with Blizzardaga, the ice crystals razor sharp as they both hit Ventus-Vanitas, but he smirked as he disappeared suddenly! "Where'd he go?" Aqua asked, looking around.

"I'm not sure, I can't see him!" Mickey said, also looking around cautiously.

Roxas frowned before sensing the darkness right behind him, he only had time to gasp before Vanitas stuck the X-Blade right into his back! "GAH!" Roxas shouted in pain. Ventus-Vanitas wasn't done yet, though- the X-Blade began to glow as he seemed to be casting a spell. Roxas's eyes widened as his hand went straight to his pocket, and he shouted, "A-Aqua!"

Ventus-Vanitas scowled, twisting the X-Blade slightly while it remained in the Nobody's back. "No you don't- you're _staying_ _put_! Aqua can't help you now." He smirked, shoving the tip of the blade in a tiny bit deeper. "Dark Thunder!"

Roxas couldn't even scream out in pain, his eyes just shot open as horror showed on his face. There wasn't any lightning bolt that came down to strike, because it struck him from the inside! Aqua and Mickey could only scream out his name as Ventus-Vanitas took out the X-Blade from the future boy's back. Ventus-Vanitas smirked as Roxas fell to the ground, numb and unmoving, both his Keyblades disappearing.

"O-oh no… Roxas!" Mickey cried out, rushing to the boy's side and gently shaking him. "Come on… Roxas, wake up! Y-you- you _gotta_ wake up… P-please, you just _gotta_!"

Aqua slowly fell to her knees, staring at Roxas in shock. _N…No… Roxas!_ Tears started to slide down her cheeks as she stared at the Nobody's unmoving body. _First Ven is forced to merge with Vanitas… And now _Roxas_ is dead…? This- this can't be happening… I… This is a dream- it _has_ to be. Roxas… can't be dead…_

Nobody noticed, but Roxas's body was glowing a soft blue, the glowing going towards his chest. Then Ventus-Vanitas began laughing as he had thought he was finally victorious against his unsaid rival. "Oh, it looks as if the strongest one of all has fallen. You may as well give up now- if _Roxas_ couldn't defeat me, you don't stand a chance!"

Aqua's tears ran down her face as Mickey was trying to heal the fallen boy from the future with Curaga. "HEAL!" Mickey shouted, raising his Keyblade as it glowed green. "Please, wake up! We still need you, Roxas!"

"Roxas… no…" The blue haired Keyblade Master shook her head as thoughts of the Nobody ran through her mind- his smile, his troubling situation, how much like Ven he was, he could've easily been Ven's twin. She had only known him for about a month and she had already grown to think of him as another little brother. _Please Roxas, don't die, don't fade away yet… don't go._ Then she noticed something shining in her pocket- she took out the blue Wayfinder in her pocket, feeling a familiar energy and power coming from it. _The D-Link…? But… but how? If Roxas is gone then it shouldn't-_

Aqua's eyes widened when she saw Roxas's hand twitch for a second before it moved a little. Ventus-Vanitas didn't notice, however, slowly walking over to her. "Well then, it looks like I have one last thing to take care of." He smirked, forcing her face up so she looked into his eyes. "I want the last thing you see before you die is your precious friend being the one who kills you."

Aqua glared at him before she used Reflect to block his sudden attack from his X-Blade! "I'm not going down without a fight." she hissed, beginning to force him back. "And neither is Roxas!" She held up her Wayfinder as she said his name, it shined white and filled her body with the Nobody's power.

Ventus-Vanitas growled angrily, jumping away from Aqua with her now shining Keyblade. "What!? How's that _possible_!? Your friend is _dead_! How are you drawing on his power!?"

"Maybe you haven't been as thorough as you hoped, or maybe your own cockiness blinded you to how strong Roxas could really be." Aqua said as she charged at him. "I'll make sure you don't do that again!" The light of her Keyblade shined brightly as she slashed at Ventus-Vanitas, matching his X-Blade's power!

Ventus-Vanitas smirked, easily beginning to push her back- even if the Keyblades had similar powers now, he had more physical strength. "You're just wasting your energy! No matter how strong you are, it's _nothing_ compared to the power of the X-Blade!"

"Oh yeah?" A familiar, if weak, voice suddenly spoke up from behind Vanitas, right before two Keyblades slammed into his side! "Maybe when you're… up against _one_ person- but when you're up… against two, you're going down…"

"And three means you WILL go down." Mickey said from beside the weakened Roxas, as if trying to keep him from falling.

"You may… think friends will… hold you back… but they help you… stay on your feet… even in your… weakest hour." Roxas said with a weak but determined smile.

Ventus-Vanitas groaned in pain, jumping away from Aqua and turning to the Nobody. "You… how are you still alive!?" Then he finally noticed the blue aura around Roxas's body. "W-what!?"

"I used… Aqua's D-Link… just before… you cast that… Dark Thunderaga spell… on me." Roxas explained, still smiling. "Her magic… kept me… from dying." _Not that Nobodies can really die, just fade away._

* * *

Ventus-Vanitas gritted his teeth in anger, his grip on the X-Blade tightening until his knuckles were practically white. "You… even after I _try_ to kill you, you somehow _survive_!" He was growing angrier, and everyone could tell.

Roxas glared back as he raised Oathkeeper to cast Curaga on himself. Aqua and Mickey stood in between them defensively, trying to keep the boy away from their friend. "H-HEA-"

"Too slow." Ventus-Vanitas had suddenly teleported and slashed down on Roxas and Mickey!

"Gah!" Roxas fell to the ground, rolling a bit.

"Roxas!" Aqua and Mickey called for him.

"Hey! Why don't you come after _me_!?" Aqua snapped as she fired three Firagas at him.

Ventus-Vanitas fired off a Dark Blizzard, easily making the fireballs disappear and nearly making her armor freeze in place before she dodged. "Because _you_ don't survive after _seven fights_ with me!" He stormed towards Roxas, holding his X-Blade high above the boy. "SAY GOODBYE, NOBODY!"

Roxas glared, and he rolled away quickly, barely dodging the Dark Thunderaga attacks. Roxas was having trouble getting on his feet because he had to keep rolling just to stay out of the way.

Mickey ran and jumped at Ventus-Vanitas, able to knock him down and make the X-Blade wielder stop attacking the weakened Nobody. Roxas gave a silent thanks to Mickey as he struggled to get up on his feet. _I have to hurry and heal myself. I can't believe I ran out of items!_

Ventus-Vanitas growled irritably, knocking the mouse away once more. _I have to finish him off once and for all- this has gone on for long enough! _Silently, he teleported right in front of Roxas, not giving the boy from the future time to react as he shoved his blade into his rival's chest! "If you won't die quietly, maybe I can _make _you disappear with a _bang_!"

* * *

Roxas's eyes widened in shock as a bright flash of light came from his chest, the Nobody barely registered himself giving a scream as Ventus-Vanitas's eyes widened, seeing something from within the Nobody's chest that he had stabbed. Instead of going through with it, Ventus-Vanitas took out his X-Blade, the shining light glowing brightly from Roxas's chest, and the possessed boy was staring at it as if in shock and disbelief. Roxas himself couldn't even move, it was like his body was frozen in time, he could barely hear Aqua and Mickey yelling out for him.

"..." Ventus-Vanitas slowly shook his head in disbelief, still staring at the light coming from the Nobody's chest. "...No way…! That- that _can't_ be." He slowly blinked, beginning to smirk at Roxas, although it was clear he was still shocked. "Heh, guess that explains a lot about _you_." He slowly reached out, and he touched the shining orb, as if to confirm it.

It seems that whatever Ventus-Vanitas was looking for was found as he began smiling and laughing even more. "Oh this is just TOO rich! I always knew there was something about you, Roxas, something that felt connected to me and Ventus- but THIS! Oh, this is just PERFECT!"

"W-w-what… what are you… talking about?" Roxas struggled to ask. _What _is_ that? It _can't_ be a heart- I'm a NOBODY!_

Ventus-Vanitas continued to chuckle darkly, leaning down as his yellow eyes flashed gleefully. "Don't you get it, idiot? You may be a Nobody- a shell- but a shell is a _perfect_ place to hide a broken heart." He smirked, a huge sphere of light suddenly surrounding both of them, blocking Aqua or Mickey from helping Roxas! "Too bad for you that said shell's now cracked- otherwise I might have never figured out the truth."

"... You… say… there was… a heart… inside me… all along?" Roxas demanded, gritting his teeth, trying to think through the pain.

"Hmph! More than just _any_ heart, it also explains why you look just like Ventus." Ventus-Vanitas smirked, the light growing brighter around them both.

"Wh-what?" Roxas felt something was wrong here, more than what's in front of his face. Ventus-Vanitas was walking closer to him and the light surrounding them looked similar to the one he saw earlier before Ven became possessed by Vanitas. "W-what… are you… doing!?"

Ventus-Vanitas suddenly pointed the X-Blade right at the shining light within Roxas's chest, and the tip of the blade began to glow! "Why… bringing more power into myself, of course." He smirked, mockingly bowing. "And thank you… for bringing me _two_ versions of Ventus's heart to strengthen the X-Blade!"

Roxas gasped, his eyes growing wide at that. "V-Ven's… h-heart?" _Ven's heart was… inside of _me_? W-why? When? _How_? It doesn't make any sense…!_

"And now there are _two_ reunions I must complete, oh this is just too much. You shouldn't have come to this timeline Roxas, but I'm grateful for it." Ventus-Vanitas smirked as he grabbed Roxas's head. "Now… go to sleep- it'll all be over before you know it." With those words, the X-Blade suddenly shot a beam of light right into Roxas's chest!

"GAAAAAAH!" Roxas didn't even register who was crying out at first. The pain was just too much! It was burning within him, almost as if a flame was burning the Nobody from the inside out- and as the pain grew even stronger, he suddenly realized the one screaming was him. He threw his head back, trying to resist the pain, but it washed over him like waves on the beach, and each new wave brought a new level of the searing feeling, breaking him more and more. His sight soon became blurry, it was becoming harder and harder to see. He's sure he saw something blue and something black just outside the light, but he wasn't sure… It was just overwhelming everything he could see.

Roxas felt his entire body and mind go numb, his eyes beginning to close. Try as he might to resist, he couldn't stop the rest, and he soon closed his eyes, unable to open them. The last thing he heard before losing himself completely was Ventus-Vanitas's laugh, practically rattling his very soul.

"ROXAS!" Aqua and Mickey had been banging against the light, it had a strong barrier surrounding it. "What's he doing!?" Aqua demanded, slamming her Keyblade into it.

"I don't know, I can't see!" Mickey yelled back, slamming his Keyblade as hard as he could. "But whatever it is, it can't be good!"

* * *

Suddenly, the light dissipated and the barrier faded… There stood Roxas, still in his coat, but he was holding… not one, but _two_ X-Blades in his hands! He slowly examined them, not looking up at the two Keyblade Wielders in front of him. "Hmm… interesting."

Aqua gasped, feeling her own heart sink. Hoping against hope, she softly called out for him. "R…Roxas? Is that you?"

'Roxas' looked up at them, his blue eyes were yellow and he was practically just like Ventus was moments ago. "Sorry, but Roxas is gone, just like expected. Though the Nobody proved to be a lot more than just useful- I thought that he would make the X-Blade stronger, but he went above and beyond, giving me an _extra_ X-Blade!" He started to laugh, making both Aqua and Mickey flinch at how grating it was to hear _three_ voices at once like that. "Oh, the irony- the one who stood the greatest chance of _defeating_ me helped me the _most_! At this point, _nobody_ could defeat me- not even ten _thousand_ Keyblade Masters!"

Aqua felt hopeless, she knew she and Mickey didn't stand a chance. They barely stood up to him when he just had _one _X-Blade, and that was _with_ Roxas's help! _He's right… there's no way we can beat him like this! Terra… Ven… Roxas… please forgive me, I've failed to protect _any_ of you!_

Then suddenly, her pocket began to glow brightly once more! "H-huh? W-what's this?" She reached into her pocket, pulling out her Wayfinder, it was glowing several different colors at once; blue, brown, green and white. _…Are they… lending me their strength? _Hope began to fill her heart once more, and she began to smile, clutching onto her good luck charm like it was a lifeline. "Thank you… Thank you _all_… I'll need every bit of strength I can get…"

Roxas-Vanitas laughed in disbelief at what she had just said, twirling his two X-Blades around as if they were a pair of small twigs. "You still think you can defeat _me_? As if- you'd be best to give up now, and I _might_ spare your lives!"

"Aqua! Look!" Mickey suddenly pointed behind her in shock, his eyes wide.

"H-huh?" Aqua looked back and, to her shock, she saw Ven's Wayward Wind Keyblade and Terra's Earthshaker Keyblade were literally floating right behind her! "H-how?"

"It's your friends Aqua! They're still with you in spirit! Terra and Ven's Keyblades are here to assist you, and it's with Roxas's powers that they're here at all! They're going to help you no matter what!" Mickey pointed out, making Aqua smile.

"Everyone… I won't give up." Aqua said, gripping her own Keyblade tightly. "I'll finish this no matter what!"

* * *

**DarkFoxKit: Heh, heh, heh… Yes, we went there- Vanitas took over both Ventus and Roxas. And yes, Roxas used Aqua's D-Link, and part of her special abilities is bringing you back to life if you died while using her, we just wanted to show that at least once here.**

**Key2DestNE: I bet a lot of people didn't expect that to be coming~ Still, it's best to go straight to the questions this time! FlightfootKeyseeker, you weren't wrong about Roxas empowering Ven, but it wasn't in the way you were expecting, now was it~? *wink* I'd be surprised if your jaws aren't on the floor by now! As you can tell, the heart resonance is pretty big, but yeah, they should make an extra name for it.. *sweatdrops***

**DarkFoxKit: Guest, I'm afraid that's** **not possible for this, we already typed out the story and thus the ending, and we're not planning to change it now- besides, as we have stated before in the beginning; we are trying to keep it close to the canon.**

**Key2DestNE: Yeah, sorry- that'd be too much meddling, so we can't give Terra his body and heart back… but we did something decent, at least!**

**DarkFoxKit: Antex! Yes, it is awesome! And I really hope your Fanboy Mode is not as crazy as Key's. Yes, Roxas and Vanitas are pretty much rivals by now. And Roxas reviving 'Terra' was something we thought of at the last second, we figured it'd be pretty fitting. Hope your patience was rewarded with this chapter!**

**Key2DestNE: Heh- thekhfan, of course we'd give you a shout-out. We do that for everyone! Technically Roxas already had a shotlock before this, it just wasn't fully developed… And- ...Wait… you want me to calm down!? CALM DOWN!? AFTER THAT SOURCE OF EPICNESS!? WHAT ARE YOU, A ROBOT!? THAT WAS AMAZING!**

**DarkFoxKit: *holds up the tranquilizer darts* I brought this with me just in case.**

**Key2DestNE: *whispering to the camera* And I've gotten an immunity to tranquilizer darts just in case too~**

**DarkFoxKit: *ahem* Roxas got his Shotlock with Aqua's help in the chapter Master and Student. KPGirl, I am going to ignore the Key2Kitten for the sake of my sanity. And yes, the armor and fight scenes were intense- we were doing our best to make the finale as best and epic as possible! And I had noticed the similarities between Roxas and Vanitas, both coming from the darkness of their originals and destined to disappear back into them- Roxas can feel a kinship with Vanitas. *nudges Key* Your turn.**

**Key2DestNE: Okay then~ First off, thanks for the t-shirt for the ship, I appreciate it~ *wink* Don't worry, Lea isn't gone juuuust yet… you'll see what I mean soon enough- same with the voice~ And Speculator, Xehanort did indeed finally find out- that's just the power of a Keyblade Master. After all, he had to be close to Roxas to do so and the boy didn't look him in the eye often. As you can tell, Vanitas did love to merge with Roxas and did~ Your turn, Kitten!**

**DarkFoxKit: …. I am ignoring all 'kitten' comments. Speculator, did you really expect us _not _to use such an opportunity like that? Guess you were a bit too hasty in assuming we weren't going to have Vanitas merge with Roxas. And yes, it WAS quite a twist having Roxas bring in the Lingering Will~ And Terra only threw Roxas off the cliff to keep him out of the battle, and he knew Roxas would be fine.**

**Key2DestNE: Exactly- he even would have said 'I'm sorry' if he had a chance, he just didn't want Roxas to get hurt anymore. Anyways, I believe that's all the reviews, and man, this is quite the doozy of a story we're pumping out~!**

**DarkFoxKit: Well, we could've had the 2 parts together for Ventus, but we thought it'd be too long if we showed both Roxas's fight with Vanitas-Ventus and then the inner battle between Ven and Vanitas, so we split them. Don't worry, at least it'll give you guys one more chapter to look forward to, don't want to end it too quickly. If that is all, then I'll leave with the usual; I am DarkFoxKit, this is Key2DestNE and we look forward to hearing from you!**


	23. Chapter 22: The Final Four- Ventus pt 2

**DarkFoxKit: Hey there readers! … My, my, my, you're all just going everywhere with the reviews this time!**

**Key2DestNE: *sweatdrops, completely covered in reviews* No kidding… now the things are like freaking ants- they're everywhere! HELP, I'M DROWNING IN REVIEWS!**

**DarkFoxKit: *grabs Key and drags him out* Okay, just calm down, let's let them read asap- I'm sure they want to know what happened to Roxas after that cliffhanger last week.**

**Key2DestNE: R-right… we don't own Kingdom Hearts, yadda yadda, on with the story! GO, YOU RAVENOUS BEASTS!**

* * *

**Chapter 22: The Final Four- Ventus- Part 2**

Meanwhile… Roxas himself was floating in the darkness, his eyes closed- he was in his original clothes instead of the black coat. The Nobody was alone with his thoughts as he just floated aimlessly.

_Where… am I now? … Is this the dream again? … No… I'm just… floating in darkness. Is this what it's like for Nobodies when they disappear? Just floating aimlessly in darkness?_

"Roxas…"

_Hmm? Who's there? Who's calling for me? They sound familiar, but I can't remember how._

"Roxas… Roxas, come on!"

…_Why do I hear fighting? I thought I've faded away… Am I… still _alive_ somehow? That's impossible… I faded away the second Vanitas took over the body. As a Nobody, I couldn't possibly survive, because I don't have a heart to hold me together._

"Roxas, get up!"

* * *

Roxas groaned as he felt someone shaking him, he opened his eyes but everything was blurry. "H-huh?"

"Good, you're finally awake… You were worrying me there!"

"Who're… you? A-are you here… to take me… away?" Roxas asked, unsure who's talking to him and wondering if there's a being or entity that takes away faded Nobodies. The blurry figure who had been shaking him suddenly tensed, as if worried he didn't remember who it was.

"W-what? No, of course not! Roxas, you just _appeared_ here! C'mon- get up, before Vanitas recovers enough to attack again!"

"I don't… get it…" Roxas answered, still in a daze and thinking he's just a disembodied conscious now, waiting to be taken into the darkness for eternity. That is… until he got smacked by a fireball. "O-OW! What the!?"

"Hmph- how did _you_ get in here, Roxas?" That was a second voice, one that Roxas knew all too well, considering who it belonged to. "And here I thought you were just a shell!"

Roxas was patting himself down as if in disbelief, how was he still here? How is he still existing? "W-w-what!? How? I'm still _here_!?" He shook his head, everything was still blurry to him as he hadn't had time to properly recover. "Wait, where am I anyway? Is this the darkness that swallowed me up?"

"No, this is our merged hearts ….Roxas… did you get merged with Vanitas too!?" The first voice sounded shocked, and now that he heard it, it sounded all too familiar as well, but for a different reason.

"Huh?" Roxas blinked, trying to remember what happened to him, he just knew that he was supposed to have faded away. "I don't remember… where am I? What happened? Was I fighting someone?" The poor boy was still too confused and his memories were scattered after just being forced to merge with Vanitas earlier.

"Come on, Roxas, get up, or- GAH!" The first voice yelped in pain as a yellow flash struck the corresponding figure. "Ow… Ugh…!"

Roxas felt a cold pain hitting his back, and he groaned as he flipped himself to his hands and knees and slowly stood up. But he stumbled, having a hard time keeping balance on his own two feet. The blurriness was slowly clearing up, but not enough to really see who's who. "I'm starting to get the feeling that I'm still in danger…"

The second figure laughed incredulously, charging him suddenly! "No kidding, idiot- now either help me merge with both of you, or stay out of my way!"

"Merge?" Roxas narrowed his eyes, trying to see who was talking to him- it sounded like Vanitas, but what was he doing here? … Wherever _'here'_ is. The Nobody managed to make out a face, and… "... S-_Sora_?"

The second figure paused just a few feet away, surprised. "...What? Who's Sora?" He shook his head in mock sympathy. "You seem to be as idiotic as Ventus can be… It's _Vanitas_, not whoever this Sora brat is!"

_Vanitas… looks like… Sora? But how? His face, it's just like him. His hair is black and his eyes are yellow but… wait… could Vanitas be Sora from the future but turned evil? And now he wants to merge with me!? _Roxas, still confused, was coming to his own conclusions as the blurriness finally cleared up and he summoned Oathkeeper to his hand. "Forget it! I won't be merging with _anyone_!"

"Alright!" the first voice cheered, and Roxas glanced over to see Ven, a regular Keyblade in his hands. "Let's work together, Roxas- he's got _two_ X-Blades now, we won't stand a chance if we each try to take him out on our own!"

"...Two X-Blades?" Roxas blinked before remembering what had happened moments before. "Oh… last thing I remember he stabbed me with a X-Blade and I ended up here. How did he get _two_?"

Vanitas smirked, aiming both X-blades at Ven and Roxas. It was then that the Nobody noticed… they were both damaged. "Thanks to _you_, Roxas- but the X-Blades shouldn't stay broken like this, don't you think? Both of you join me now and we can complete the X-Blades, and be the most powerful person in all the worlds!"

Roxas looked down on the ground he was standing on, it was a platform, similar to when he was in the Station of Awakening- only instead of Sora sleeping there, it was Ventus, and Vanitas was upside-down on the other side, almost representing a Yin and Yang there. "... Ven, _where_ am I?" The Nobody asked with a serious tone in his voice.

Ven blinked in surprise, glancing down. "...As far as I know… we're all in the Dive to the Heart- we all merged together." Then he glared up at Vanitas, holding up his Keyblade, not noticing Roxas paling beside him. "I have a better idea, Vanitas… How 'bout we destroy you _both_?"

"HAHAHA! The X-Blades are made from your heart too, idiot. You destroy it, you destroy yourself." Vanitas laughed, shaking his head in amusement. _They can't honestly plan to destroy _themselves_ as well- that'd be stupid!_

_I shouldn't even BE in here! I-I'm an intruder, for crying out loud! I'm not Ventus, nor am I a part of his heart! This is just WRONG! _Roxas hated feeling like he had intruded into someone's heart, especially with someone he considered a friend.

Ven merely looked determined, a fire in his eyes as he responded, "Whatever it takes to beat you. I'll do _anything_ to save my friends!"

"Hmph, you'll do _anything_ for your friends, how pathetic." Vanitas growled.

"At least I _have _some!" Ven snapped, almost copying what Roxas had said about having friends. "I've become a part of their heart- just as they've become a part of mine. My friends are _my_ power, and I'm theirs!"

"Well, I'm not so sure if Roxas will agree with you, Ventus." Vanitas smirked, looking at the Nobody who seemed to be troubled.

The boy blinked, glancing at his friend in surprise. "Roxas…? C'mon, we have to work _together_ to defeat Vanitas- if we don't fight, he's already won!"

"Y-yeah, but… I really shouldn't be here." Roxas said softly, looking around as if he had committed some heinous crime.

"Heh, think about it this way Roxas- you let me fuse with you and Ventus, and you will be a complete person with a heart and that chance of life you wanted." Vanitas said, smirking.

Roxas looked at him, his thoughts a blur with activity. _A chance at life… having a real heart… That's something _all_ Nobodies strive for, but… would I really risk the lives of the universe and my friends for that?_

Ven put a hand on Roxas's shoulder, frowning worriedly. "Roxas… we _have_ to do this- if Terra and Aqua have to fight the X-Blade, Vanitas would probably just _kill_ them! And what about Mickey? Or anybody else we've met along our travels?"

Roxas sighed as he looked over at Ventus before giving his look alike a smile. "It's very tempting, especially since it gives me a possible future. But what good is a heart and a future if I'm nothing but a _slave_? I'd rather be a heartless shell and be free rather than someone with a heart and be a slave."

Vanitas's eyes widened at that before he glared, gripping both X-Blades tightly. "Hmph. So you both are going to be idiots and _fight_ me for control of this body, huh? Well, fine…" He smirked a bit, getting into a battle stance all too familiar for Roxas- the Nobody's own whenever _he_ dual wielded. "Let's begin!"

* * *

Roxas glared at that, easily recognizing the style. "Hey! That's MY battle stance!" He growled as he stood there, refusing to copy the other boy's stance by any means, especially since he looked just like Sora and his theory of Vanitas being an evil Sora from the future was still a possibility in his mind.

Ven frowned as well, before he glanced at Roxas. "Wanna take him from two directions at once?" he asked, noticing how irritated the boy seemed now.

"Do you even have to ask? Let's get him!" Roxas snapped as he and Ven ran opposite directions before charging at Vanitas with their Keyblades.

Vanitas scowled, teleporting and leaving an afterimage as he slammed down his Keyblade from above them. "Pathetic!" To his shock, though, Roxas and Ven both dodged his attack, slamming their Keyblades into him! "WHAT!?" _How did they dodge that so_ easily_!?_

Roxas then summoned those pillar of lights and began using them to attack Vanitas, making it hard for him to move. The lights only went through Ven, like he wasn't even there, it was clear that Roxas had complete control over his powers by now. "Get him Ven!" Roxas called to his twin partner as he kept the lights going to keep Vanitas from retaliating.

Ven nodded, pointing his Keyblade right at the formerly masked boy. "Gotcha!" He suddenly charged Vanitas, slamming his Keyblade into the guy over and over at supersonic speeds! _Shotlocks can be pretty powerful things when used right! _When his Shotlock was done, he cast Fire on his own Keyblade and began slashing at Vanitas over and over. "Take this!"

Vanitas glared as he retaliated by slamming one of the X-Blades at Ven's side, causing him to fly off a few feet before he sent out huge Dark Firagas of his own at him. Then he went at Roxas, seeing he was more of a threat with his light attacks. "Get ready!"

Roxas glared as he quickly guard with Oathkeeper, barely parrying with Vanitas's X-Blades, then he slashed at Vanitas, who hissed in pain but took this opportunity to slam another X-Blade at the Nobody and began comboing him similarly to how Roxas himself comboed his enemies with his own two Keyblades. Roxas grunted and groaned in pain as Vanitas kept punishing him.

"FIRE!" Ven then used Fire Dash, flames surrounding his body as he dashed at Vanitas, to stop his relentless attacks.

The Nobody slammed Oathkeeper at one of the X-Blades, trying to hit Vanitas as payback, but Vanitas managed to recover quick enough to land on his feet before spinning around a complete 360, hitting both boys with both X-Blades. Then Vanitas charged at Roxas again!

As if in slow motion, Roxas got to his feet and jumped at Vanitas with Oathkeeper, then with a CLASH! Roxas managed to hit Vanitas into the sky before, by pure instinct, held up his hand. "GIVE ME STRENGTH!" One of the X-Blade suddenly glowed white and floated over to Roxas.

Vanitas scowled, beginning to charge the second X-Blade with dark energy. "What's yours is _mine_!" He was covered in a dark aura, but right before he could attack, Ven slammed into his back! "AGH! Why you…!" _That attack would have _finished_ them!_

Ven rolled over to Roxas before getting to his feet, frowning in confusion. "Roxas? How did you do that?"

"I-I don't even know! It was like someone else was controlling me there." Roxas said, just as surprised about this as Ven was, looking at the X-Blade floating beside him. _I wonder if this is the one that _I _made?_

* * *

Ven blinked a few times before smiling. "Well… that's great- let's use it while we can!" Roxas nodded, still looking at the X-Blade floating next to him before Ven charged Vanitas. "HAAA!" Vanitas tried to slash at him multiple times, but Ven just kept Dodge Rolling away from the strikes, launching his own counterattack.

Roxas quickly snapped out of his awe and rushed at Vanitas himself. The Nobody attacked from the air and the X-Blade began attacking Vanitas on its own. This gave Roxas a big advantage since he has his own Keyblade and the X-Blade working with him. The dark Sora-look alike growled in irritation as he knew he had to get that other X-Blade back if he hope to stand a chance against these two.

Vanitas teleported like crazy, trying to get in close and making it hard for either of the two to get to him, until he was suddenly behind Roxas and grabbed the X-Blade the Nobody took from him, quickly covering it in his dark energy before he slammed it into the future boy, sending him back a few feet!

"GAH!" Roxas yelped, hitting the ground HARD. _Ugh… Well, there goes the idea of keeping the X-Blade _away_ from Vanitas… _He quickly got to his feet, preparing his Shotlock. "Giga Impact!" As soon as Vanitas teleported near him, the Nobody fired off his attack, dozens upon dozens of tiny light orbs slamming into the X-Blades wielder.

"Whoa! That's a nice Shotlock Roxas!" Ven called from the other side.

"Thanks, Aqua taught it to me." Roxas smiled back at him, giving a thumbs up.

Of course, Vanitas was far from being finished- he crossed both X-Blades together before his entire body was covered in dark energy and it grew into a dark mist around the entire platform. Roxas and Ven gasped, wondering what he was doing.

Ven gripped his Keyblade tightly, not liking this. He frowned, looking around worriedly. "Roxas, let's get back to- WAH!" He yelped, Vanitas suddenly grabbing the boy from behind and holding him up in the air! "L-let… me… go…!"

"Ven!" Roxas called, barely able to make out the two figures in this dark mist. "Vanitas! What are you going to do with him!?" he demanded from the dark Sora-look-alike.

The former mask-wearing boy smirked, holding Ven up even higher. "What does it look like? I'm about to finish off what he refuses to let happen- and then you'll be all alone in your fight against me. How much of a chance do you think _you'll_ stand against me when I hold _two_ X-Blades? Especially since you can't seem to summon your second Keyblade?"

Roxas glared as he said, "I didn't summon my second Keyblade because I didn't want to seem like I was copying _you_, that doesn't mean I _can't_." As if to prove this, the Nobody held out his empty hand and summoned Oblivion. "I won't let you do that to Ven! It's time to put you in your place, Vanitas!"

"HA! And just what are you going to do about it?" Vanitas laughed, taunting the boy. "I've surrounded the entire battlefield with darkness, you won't be able to reach me no matter what you do. It's too late for you to stop me, Roxas, and you know it!"

Roxas glared as he began summoning his Command Style. The ground beneath him began to light up with the circle, and the pillar of lights moved around beside him. "Ready!?" he snapped as the Nobody symbols appeared on top of the lights and he began floating into the air. This surprised and confused Vanitas as he hadn't seen Roxas use the Light Rage before.

"W-what the!?" Vanitas nearly dropped Ven in his shock, but he quickly retightened his grip on his light half, trying to finish the merge before Roxas could attack. _I don't know what he's planning, but it doesn't look good!_

Roxas shot up both his Keyblades before he unleashed a bright light that turned the entire black sky around them into twilight with dark clouds, and Roxas immediately began firing the orbs of light at Vanitas.

The boy's eyes widened in shock, but before he could do anything, he was smashed by the first light orb, sending him flying away from Ven! _GAH! How strong IS that attack!? Is that… is that a Command Style!?_

Ven looked up in shock himself as Roxas continued firing at Vanitas until the twilight sky faded away and Roxas came back down to the floor, but as soon as he did, the platform began cracking.

Vanitas groaned, clenching his chest, before slamming both X-Blades into the platform! "Playtime's over!" As soon as he did, the platform broke into dozens upon dozens of tiny pieces, leaving no place solid to stand on.

* * *

Roxas gasped as he found himself floating in midair, almost like he was flying but it felt different in a way, like there was no gravity rather than just simply flying. Beside him was Ventus, who looked just as surprised and unbalanced as he did with this. "_Now_ what's going on?"

The blond look-alike shrugged, glancing around. "I don't know, but I-" He paused, suddenly beginning to glow dark! "What the!?"

Vanitas panted a bit, before he smirked. "If you're so insistent on using D-Links… then I suppose I'll have to _force_ you to join one with me. Try to keep up, Ventus!" With that, he suddenly charged at the two boys, spinning both X-Blades like mad!

Roxas quickly began moving, or he tried to, he couldn't really keep his balance very well so he opted to use both his Keyblades to try and block the attack! But when he did, he suddenly felt Vanitas's darkness on _him_ as well as Ven! "What the-!?" _Is he trying to D-Link with me too?_

Vanitas laughed as Ven took the initiative, spinning his own Keyblade to block the attack. _This is the final struggle- it's either I win, or he wins! Either way… only one of us is walking out of here alive, if that. _"You have one last chance, Ventus- otherwise, there's no escape!"

The Nobody looked at them as they suddenly became two bright lights, Ven being blue and Vanitas being yellow. Ven wasn't doing too well, though, he was being pushed back! Roxas gritted his teeth as he slowly floated over to Ven, who was losing. "V-Ven… I'm here!" Roxas began spinning both his Keyblades to help counter two X-Blades, and he and Ven pushed Vanitas back together.

Vanitas's eyes widened, seeing himself get pushed back more and more before finally, he was slammed back! "WHOAAAA!" He managed to regain his balance, but he was clearly shaken as he glared at both of them. "I… I won't accept this!" He suddenly teleported, disappearing from Ven and Roxas's sight again. _Without Roxas here, I was able to handle this dweeb- so if I get rid of the Nobody, or at least keep him from helping Ven long enough for me to fuse with him…_

Vanitas suddenly reappeared, and he looked like he was taking aim at them, like he was about to use a Shotlock.

"LOOK OUT!" Ven yelled as he and Roxas quickly tried to float away.

Before they could leave, though, Vanitas fired a huge yellow beam at them! Roxas gasped as he couldn't get away and it hit his head! "AAAAAARGH!" he shouted in pain.

Vanitas smirked, feeling Roxas's mental barriers falling as quickly as the attack had hit him. _Now, what can I use against this kid this ti-_ His eyes widened, suddenly feeling a tug on his _own_ memories. _What!? What's happening!?_

Roxas's Keyblades disappeared from his hands as he grabbed his head, feeling foreign memories attacking his head. This time it wasn't Sora's memories, it was… someone else's.

* * *

_I groaned, feeling my head pounding. Master's training was so hard! But… if I didn't do it, I'd never grow strong enough to suit him- I'd just be ignored… I glanced at the Heartless around me, feeling my anger grow stronger and stronger, but I quickly bottled it back up deep within me._

_The darkness scared me, I didn't want to use it… "Please don't do this Master! I'm not strong enough!" I shouted, begging him to understand and stop._

"_No, you're just holding it in! You need to stop holding it back and release the darkness, let it take you over!" Master Xehanort said to me with passion, but I didn't want to release the darkness! It would only hurt… Just like my head was right now_

_The Heartless then attacked me all at once, I came close to doing what Master Xehanort wanted out of survival, but I held it back anyway and fell to the ground. I couldn't move, everything hurts… I felt Master's foot turning me… he was ashamed of me. I could te-_

_My eyes widened, feeling something piercing my heart. Master… he… was he killing me…? …No… he's… pulling the darkness out of me? But… why? Didn't he want me… to control it instead, to use it?_

_The darkness floated into the sky as I felt my body freeze up as if in shock. Suddenly I was the one in the sky, and I floated down… wait… isn't that me lying on the ground? No… I've been separated. I have… a different body now. I looked at Master Xehanort… why did he do this to me? To US? Didn't he trust me?_

"_Your name is now Vanitas…" he suddenly told me, smirking. "And I have a job for you." A job? I… I want to make Master Xehanort proud, but… will I be able to do it?_

* * *

Roxas was trying to fight against the memory, not knowing what was going on, but it seemed like he was experiencing Ven's memory or something. Vanitas looked rather out of it too, but regardless, he had more focus than the Nobody currently did. Roxas tried to parry against Vanitas's X-Blades, only able to summon the Kingdom Key right now- he'll have to rely on Ven to protect him until the memory attacks stop.

"Roxas! What's wrong?" Ven called out to him in concern, frowning worriedly.

"Can't… focus… too much… flowing into… my head." Roxas groaned as he shut his eyes tightly, feeling another wave of memory hitting his head.

* * *

_I don't want to hurt him… he's my light side and still me, but… I don't know why, I just keep getting this urge to kill him, to kill Ventus. I can't kill him, he's still me even if we are separated and Master still has use for him._

_I was shocked when I found out I had a different face now… a boy's face. At first I didn't have a true face, only a black mist with red eyes, so this really surprised me._

_Ventus was a complete zombie, he wasn't reacting to much of anything and when he tried to talk, he could only say a few words or sometimes slowly parrot us, and it's so _annoying_! I know that I have all his memories and he has none, but I still can't help but want to kill him for it!_

_So this brought me to Master Xehanort. "Master… I've tried to hold it back, but I can't stop getting the urge to kill my light side. If you want him to stay alive, I suggest you take him away from me."_

_Master seemed irritated with that, but he slowly nodded. "I suppose you're right…" Then he smirked. "And I know just the man to train him for his new duty!" He stood up, looking at me for a moment. "You stay here and train, Vanitas- I will be back soon."_

_I felt sad that Ventus was going to be taken away- I didn't like our separation to begin with- but it's for the best. I… I don't want to hurt him when those urges hit me._

* * *

Roxas barely manage to dodge another incoming attack, and he quickly slammed his Keyblade at Vanitas as he began to realize whose memory it was that he was experiencing. "Why… why am I seeing YOUR memories, Vanitas!?" he demanded, frowning in confusion.

Vanitas gritted his teeth, trying to attack Roxas again. "You… _idiot_!" he growled out. "_You're_ the one trying to _take_ my memories!" _I have to break off from him somehow- I can't let him see anymore!_

"I'm not… _doing_ this!" Roxas snapped as he felt another wave trying to attack his head, the Nobody tried to fight against it as Ventus managed to strike at Vanitas just before the memory took over again.

* * *

_I had taken to wearing a mask… Seeing that face staring into my own instead of the face I had seen all my life… It angered me- oftentimes now, I would break the mirror within a single minute when I didn't wear my mask. Oddly enough, it was… calming. I still hated my face, but this way I wasn't reminded of it every time I looked at myself._

_I sighed, feeling that lonely feeling as I walked out into the badlands, but then suddenly my body began to have this dark aura glowing around it. I blinked, and this… weird blue creature thing popped out in front of me, twitching occasionally. I stared at it in shock as it seemed to be moving around, looking for something._

_I watched it for a few minutes before I decided to end this creature's life seeing how it looks almost as dangerous as Heartless. I slashed at it and it disappeared, but I felt a terrible pain glow through me as soon as it did and I saw the black mist it turned into flow back into me. I didn't understand, why did it- was that creature something _I_ made?_

_I glared in anger, why would I make such an ugly creature? But suddenly more of those _things_ popped up! It didn't take me long to realize what they were… They were beings made from my own negativity, my emotions… my weaknesses. I gritted my teeth, how dare these creatures show up? How _dare_ they expose my weaknesses! I attacked and killed every single one of them out of pure rage, but each time I did, I felt more and more pain, and the more pain I felt, the angrier I was, and the angrier I was, the more these THINGS came up! It was an endless vicious cycle, I was basically torturing myself! I want it to STOP! _MAKE IT STOP_!_

* * *

Roxas hissed to himself as he witnessed that memory and how Vanitas apparently first created the Unversed by pure accident. _He… he didn't have any control when he made them… they were… his negativity? But… but when Xehanort told Terra- …then again, why would that old man tell the _truth_? _He frowned, remembering what Xehanort had told Terra the first time they went to the badlands.

Vanitas was trembling in pure fury by now, his yellow eyes flashing with rage. "Stop it! STOP LOOKING AT MY MEMORIES!" He tried to slash at Roxas again, but he was kicked in the back by Ven, sending the black-haired boy flying away. _No… No, I can't let him see anymore! If he sees any more weakness, he'll… he'll use it _against_ me!_

"As if I'm looking at them on purpose!" Roxas snapped irritably. "They won't STOP!" Then another wave hit him.

* * *

"_Please Master Xehanort, please- tell me how to make my suffering end! R-return me to Ventus! I can't take it anymore!" I yelled at my Master, no longer able to take this pain._

_Master Xehanort frowned at me, seeming disappointed. Well, if he's not willing to tell me how to make this stop, he's the _worst_ Master I've ever _seen_! "There is one way you can return to Ventus… however, you must work hard and survive- for it will not happen over a single day."_

"_How, Master?" I begged. I just want the pain to stop… Every time I see those stupid creatures, those backwards emotions, it just makes me want to destroy them more and more! "I'll do _anything_ to return to him!"_

_Master Xehanort smirked, putting both hands behind his back and beginning to walk away. Who does he think he is, doing that to me!? "You must train your darkness, learn how to use it. Once you do, and once Ventus is powerful enough to be your equal, you both will merge once more- and when you do, you shall form the most powerful blade in the worlds, the X-Blade!"_

"_The X-Blade?" I frowned. Sounds like the thing I already have… "I don't care about that, I just want to go back to who I once was! Who I was _supposed_ to be! Not this creature of darkness and misery! I don't want to be destined just for-"_

"_You WILL forge the X-Blade with Ventus!" Master Xehanort interrupted me, giving me an angry frown. "It is the only way you two can ever truly be one again! Don't you see, Vanitas? Because you two have been separated for so long, you have gained your own will and personality- you can't just return to him as you are anymore."_

"_W-what?" I shook my head in disbelief, was I nothing but a tool to him? Is it really _all_ that he thinks of me?! "No… I don't want to do that!"_

"_If you don't, then you will just disappear and Ventus will go on living without you, not caring about you- after all, you're his darkness, and he hates his own darkness, as well as every other Keyblade Wielder and Master, only I will accept you." Master Xehanort said with that annoying smile of his. I just want to rub it off his stupid wrinkly face!_

"_..." But if I do… I'll just disappear… I don't want that to happen. "...Fine- I'll make this _X-Blade_ you want so badly, Master. But… I want to be the _stronger_ one when we finally clash. The one who comes out on top- train me! I don't want to just disappear, I want to be the one who'll be in _control_!"_

_Master Xehanort smirked, nodding. "Yes, that's the spirit I was looking for, Vanitas. Remember what I said; nobody will ever accept you but me, so ignore friends, you can only count on yourself."_

_I didn't want to agree with him, but he does speak the truth… who would ever care for someone who's nothing but pure darkness? "...I understand, Master."_

* * *

Roxas suddenly found himself backflipping in the air, but he gritted his teeth at the latest memory. _Vanitas really WAS like Ventus at one point… Xehanort just had it all warped in his mind that he was destined to…_ Roxas shook his head, frowning to himself. _I was right before… Vanitas, Ventus, myself, we really are the same. I still can't believe that Xehanort only saw him as a tool, no wonder Vanitas hated him so much. Vanitas only wanted to continue existing, that's why he forged the X-Blade and took over Ven._

When Ven himself was pushed back, he glared, clenching his fist angrily. "This isn't over!"

"Wait, Ven!" Roxas put a hand on his shoulder, surprising and confusing Ven before Roxas looked at Vanitas. "I think I get it now… You've been living in fear, pain, and loneliness, and it's what turned you into what you are now. You _were_ Ventus at one point, until the Unversed and Xehanort warped your mind."

Vanitas twitched at that, a dark aura beginning to surround him. "Shut up… I've told you, over and over, to just _shut up_! You do _not_ know me, Roxas!" He suddenly charged the two once more, slashing like a madman! "I may have been that weakling once, BUT I AM NOT GOING TO _STAY_ LIKE HIM!"

"Don't you get it?" Roxas and Ven quickly began parrying against his X-Blades, but Roxas continued talking as he felt another memory trying to invade his head. "It's not being weak to care or be happy!" That actually made Vanitas pause, and Roxas gently pushed away, looking at the boy with pity. "If anything, it's more of a strength than a weakness!" _And he doesn't know that… I feel bad for him. It's _scary_ how close I could've been to be exactly like he is now- especially before Ven cheered me up before._

Vanitas seemed to notice Roxas's emotion, though, and he glared once more, growing furious. "Oh? It's a _strength_, huh? Well then, _why are you pitying me_?!" Roxas's eyes widened, seeing the Sora look-alike begin charging his X-Blades with energy. "I _hate_ pity… It's a weak emotion- and if that's caring, _I don't want to care_!" He charged the two of them once more, practically spitting by now. "GO AHEAD AND DIE!"

* * *

"_...in a hole." I finished muttering to myself when that old man went around the corner. I may still want to be the stronger one, to _remain _strong while Ventus was the one who disappeared, I still hate Xehanort with every fiber of my being. He's just using me, and we both know it!_

_Hmph… At least his little plan's nearly complete now. It's been a couple years since he started- now we'll get to see just how strong little Ventus _is_ now, with this Mark of Mastery exam taking place._

_I just watched in amusement as Master began manipulating those orbs of light, but then I saw someone else- am I seeing double? Why are there two Ventus's? But the other one isn't fighting back, maybe it's… a twin that we never knew we had or something?_

_I frowned, hopping up to the rafters above everyone to see what was going on in better detail. …Now that I'm closer, I can see more detail- that twin, or whatever he is… he has different clothes- designed more like a civilian's rather than a Keyblade Wielders' clothing. He could still be a twin, but I need to know more about him. Who is he? He just came out of nowhere. He doesn't seem strong, in fact he looks almost as pathetic as that wimp- no, he may be even more _pathetic_ since he isn't even fighting and he looks like a scared little boy. I guess I don't have to worry about him. Still… it's curious and uncanny that he looks so much like Ventus._

_After the exam itself was over and I finished setting up that weak little Ventus to go after Terra, I decided to check on that other boy, whom I heard was named Roxas. Tch… What a stupid name- suits him well, though, a stupid name for a stupid boy. I wasn't entirely sure what I was trying to do when I spoke to him- I wanted to learn more about him, and taking him with me was the easiest way to do it, but the boy didn't go for it… And he seemed quite different when I talked to him; instead of acting scared or innocent, he looked ready to defend himself at any time and he was watching me as if analyzing me. How strange for someone who supposedly is _normal_. It's almost like he's a fighter himself…_

_Well, whatever. If he's able to get off this world, I'll keep an eye on him- so I'd better put it in his head. "If that's so… you'd better go after him, am I right~?" That kid blinked in confusion, and I resisted the urge to just slam his face in. How does he not get it!? "Oh come on, don't tell me you're so stupid- he's _leaving_. And if you see him again… you won't even recognize him, Roxas. You'll be all alone again…" With that, I turned and opened up a dark portal next to me. I don't know why I said that last bit… but it fit- that kid seemed to be worried about being alone, so why not play on his fear? Although… if he's afraid to be left alone, then we have- or HAD- similar fears. I didn't like to be left alone until after I put it out of my mind- after that, it just got easier and easier to ignore._

* * *

"Roxas! You're spacing out again!" Ven yelled as he was firing his own Shotlock, or rather, his own big blue laser at Vanitas, who was firing back with his yellow laser. "C'mon, stay focused- we've almost got him!

"I'm sorry! I'm trying not to." Roxas groaned, rubbing his head. _How much more until the memories _stop_? I think that was the Mark of Mastery exam… so we're getting closer to the present time, but… how much more _is _there?_

The Nobody helped Ven by putting a hand over his shoulder, using Ven's ability to absorb some of his power to power him up, to keep Vanitas from pushing him back. "Just… keep going…"

* * *

_Ventus is in this world. Spreading out my Unversed here was a great idea, but now I lost Roxas in that mine. Where did the little wimp _go_? I was so annoyed I wanted to take it out on the next person I laid eyes on!_

_I was walking through the forest, still feeling frustrated, before someone bumped into me- this jerk in a black coat! What, he thinks that makes him look _cool_!? ...Wait… he seems familiar. "Hang on… who the heck are you?"_

_The figure paused for a moment before crossing their arms, speaking like a man. "I am just a lonely traveler, is all. I was only passing through, you need not worry about me." Who does this kid think he's fooling? He's clearly about _my_ age, not as ancient as that old coot! "Now if you'll please excuse me, I want to continue to explore."_

…_DID HE JUST _DISMISS ME_!? Oh HECK no, he did NOT just do that! "Shut up- NOBODY tells me what to do, got it!? Not you, not that little brat Ventus, NOT ANYBODY!" Especially not Xehanort- we're only using each other to get to our own ends!_

…_I doubt _he_ could put up much of a fight- but it doesn't mean I won't act as an obstacle to him! "...Fine, I'll cool down- but you'll have to get past me first, 'old man'. It's either that or take another route!"_

_The figure frowned under the coat, but they began to turn around as I had a thought. Well… this guy seems to radiate power like a fountain… Heh- why not? It might be fun to see how a homeworld-liver will last against my own abilities!_ _"...I've changed my mind. You seem strong… so how about a little… spar?" I pulled out my Void Gear and smirked at the shocked expression he must have right now._

* * *

Roxas groaned, feeling the memory suddenly skip past the fight as if it was going in fast forward. "Ugh…"

"Roxas!" Ven grabbed the Nobody's arm and dragged him out of Vanitas's incoming strike. "Geez, until you can get your mind back together, I have to keep you safe!"

"S-sorry…" Roxas moaned weakly- he pointed the Kingdom Key behind him trying to use Giga Impact, but his memory attacking mind wouldn't let him focus enough to do it, so he just shot out whatever energy he could focus on before another memory wave strike.

"Roxas! Hang on!" Ventus yelled as he quickly began diving down.

* * *

_How!? How could this mysterious figure hold TWO Keyblades at once!? It's impossible! And yet… I find myself very intrigued and impressed, now I want to know more than ever who the heck this kid is!_

"_Heh… You're a lot more powerful than I expected." I grinned at him, slowly getting up from his last attack. Ugh… that last pillar of light _hurt_! "But… I've got one last trick up my sleeve!" With that, I vanished, slamming my Void Gear into the back of his head. That kid was sent flying into the tree, and his hood finally fell off from the impact. "Heh… Perfect- now to see-" I froze, seeing the figure slowly lift his head. And… it was the _one_ last person I ever expected to see under it. "...VENTUS!?" I jumped back in shock as Ventus slowly stood up once more, looking at me in confusion before he noticed the hood was off. "How in all the worlds did _you_ get so strong so quickly!? And what's with the coat, anyhow!? What, feeling too high and mighty to wear your previous outfit!?" Seriously, _how_ did that little weakling get so _strong_!? I thought I had an eye on him!_

_Ventus gave me a wide-eyed stare before frowning and gritting his teeth. "No… I'm not Ventus." he answered, casting Curaga on himself. "I'm just Nobody."_

"_...You said that before…" Wait… he's not Ventus? If he isn't Ventus, then he's- I paused. "...Hold on… ROXAS!? _You're_ the one who could use _two_ Keyblades!?" Roxas said nothing, and I clenched my Keyblade again. He's strong… I doubt I'd be able to do another fight with him and survive. He even managed to hide it from _me_ for a while- not bad! "Hmph… I should have known- you kept insisting you were ordinary, even though you look exactly like _him_… So this is what you were hiding, hmm?"_

_Roxas continued to say nothing, but I could tell he was irritated. Ohoho, this is amazing! I wonder how the old coot will take _this_ piece of news when he learns about it. From someone else, of course- I'm not going to tell him _anything_ about this fight…I chuckled to myself. "The old coot's going to have a heart attack when he finds out…" I muttered to myself before looking up at the kid… no… my _rival_ in front of me. "Well… Roxas… I suppose I'll see you some other time." With that, I turned, opening up a Corridor to Darkness. "But we_ will_ meet again… You've just changed everything for the better."_

_I seriously could not believe what I just experienced back there! Roxas, the kid I thought was wimpy, turned out to be the greatest challenge I've had since the separation! Two Keyblades, that is just unbelievable… I want to fight him again- and _soon_. And when I do… Oh Roxas, you are _not_ going to be expecting the damage you'll be feeling next time. I'll be sure to _beat_ you, or my name isn't Vanitas!_

* * *

Roxas felt a heavy weight lifting from his head, sighing in relief as he's sure the memories finally stopped assaulting his head. "Thank goodness, I can focus again…"

Vanitas growled, feeling it too, but he was more worried than anything else. "What- what did you see!?" he demanded, his grip on both X-Blades tightening dangerously. When Roxas didn't respond, he asked again- or rather, _shouted_ it. "WHAT DID YOU SEE!?"

Roxas frowned, glancing up at the desperate-looking boy in front of him. "I saw how you were separated from Ven, and when you told Xehanort to move him away because you kept wanting to kill him, and how you first made the Unversed, the Mastery Exam, and our first fight."

"..." Vanitas looked away, as if trying to think of a response. "...I-I… I just want you to know, that after our first fight, I was only feeling the rush of adrenaline! Since when would I consider _you_ a rival?" He scoffed, still looking away. "That's just childish!"

"Um…" Roxas and Ven looked at each other as if Vanitas just grew another head or something. "...I never knew you considered me a rival, Vanitas." Roxas finally said.

The black-haired boy twitched, turning to glare at Roxas again. "I said I _don't_ consider you a rival, you idiot! Don't you _listen_!?"

"Yes, I did, but where did the idea that I thought you considered me a rival even come from?" the Nobody pointed out. "I just thought you only saw me as someone of a big obstacle that gets in your way, not a _rival_."

Vanitas's hands clenched around the X-Blades, and he charged at them, but both Roxas and Ven noticed it was a lot slower this time- they were easily able to dodge. "S-shut _up_! I _don't_ consider you a rival! If you saw my memories, you'd have-" He stopped, as if remembering who he was talking to before slashing at the Nobody.

"Yes, I saw your memories, Vanitas, but _who_ was it that caused me to see them in the first place?" Roxas asked him as he blocked the attack, along with Ven. Ven, although staying out of their conversation, was still helping Roxas from getting injured, he too wanted to know what the Nobody was saying.

Vanitas frowned, trying to hit Roxas again. "S-shut _up_! You must have reversed what I was going to use against me so you could read _my_ memories!"

"I didn't do _anything_, Vanitas." Roxas said, shaking his head. "But whatever had happened… I'm grateful for it. It gave me a chance to know what you went through- or at least, some of it."

Vanitas paused at that, seeming surprised. "W-what…?" He blinked for a moment or two, his eyes going a bit glassy before he quickly shook his head, slashing at Ven this time. "Hmph! It's not as if it'll make any difference- I've gotten this far, and I'm not stopping now!"

Ven grunted as he floated back a bit, but Roxas came in between the two, stopping Vanitas's attack with his Keyblade. "You're only doing this because you were in constant torment, and Xehanort had you believe you could never return to your original self, knowing he would just reject you because he hated you. You didn't even want the X-Blade in the first place, all you wanted was to be who you once were, but Xehanort took that away from you. Vanitas, even now, you're still you, but you were once Ventus, and somewhere deep inside, you don't want this either."

Vanitas scoffed, firing off a simple Fire spell. "As if! If I don't want this, why would I _do_ it, you idiot? Besides, it's too late for me to make any kind of redemption even if I wanted to! I'm _darkness_, remember!?"

"Yes, you're darkness, so what? I'm twilight, and Ventus is light, _that_ doesn't make us who we are, it's _what we do_ that shows our true colors." Roxas said, before he turned to Ven. "Ven, you know this too, don't you?"

The blond-haired look alike gave a small smile, nodding. "Yeah. You _know_ I believe that- especially since I had to practically beat it into your stubborn head, Roxas!"

"Yeah, thanks for that." Roxas chuckled, before he turned back to Vanitas, who had, surprisingly, not attacked when he wasn't looking at him. "Vanitas… be honest with yourself, do you truly don't care for Ventus at all? Do you _really_ just want to destroy him? Or is that just because of your fear and what Xehanort said? Do _you_ want it, or does Xehanort?"

"..." Vanitas frowned, looking at the two Keyblades in his hands. "I… I…" _Come on Vanitas, _say it_! You _know_ you want this- it's what you've been doing practically your whole life! …R-right? I… _do_ I want this?_

"I just think it's because you're worried that Ventus wouldn't take you back. You severed whatever bonds you had with him and tried to make him do the same, believing it'll be less painful that way. It's not, I've tried- all it does it hurt you and that person more, and making you fall further and further into desperation and insanity." Roxas said softly, almost as if he was referring to himself, but then he turned to Ven. "Ven… I think you and Vanitas should talk it out from here."

* * *

Ven blinked in surprise, and if he had been able to take a step back, he would have. "W-what? _Me_? But Roxas, I…" The Nobody gave him a glare, and he sighed. "Oh alright, alright…" He turned to Vanitas, lowering his Keyblade. "So… uh… you really want to merge like this because you're afraid I won't take you back?"

Vanitas looked at Ven before glaring, slashing his X-Blades in the air. "No! I'm not afraid of anything! Fear is just more weakness. Why should I care about what_ you _think? I'm your better half and we both know it!"

Ven shrugged. "Well then, why not just _ask_ me to merge together without the X-Blade if that's what you wanted?" The black-haired boy flinched, and Ven blinked. _…He's _right_?_

The Sora look-alike looked at him, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "... I don't believe you. There's no way you would've, you hate darkness, and that Master Eraqus of yours kept pounding it in how bad it is."

Ven hesitated at that. "...I…" Then he sighed, suddenly flying forward and hugging Vanitas! "Look… I don't like it, but… if darkness isn't always evil, then you…" He shrugged, not sure how to finish that thought. "You… could be good."

Vanitas was shocked at Ven's sudden hug. The black haired boy should've taken advantage of this, he should just stab him and take him out now! But… he found that he couldn't, and instead, his arms just moved as if to hug him back, but he stopped. "You… you _would've_ accepted me again?" He didn't want to get all mushy now, but he did want to know for sure if Ven would've truly accepted him back if he had just asked. "It_ couldn't _have been that easy."

Roxas smiled at this, if only he and Sora could do the same, but their situation was completely different- no matter how similar it is, he would fade and Sora would live on no matter what.

Ven shrugged, still hugging his 'dark half'. "Well… it will be- but only if we shatter those two X-Blades." Vanitas froze at that, but he continued. "No matter what, it'd leave people in danger- including Terra and Aqua. We _have_ to do it, Vanitas…"

"But in doing so, both of our hearts will shatter. We'd die, or fade away." Vanitas protested, not liking the idea. "And that means everything we did would've been for _nothing_, you idiot."

Roxas floated closer to them, shrugging. "It doesn't have to be." He held up his Kingdom Key, giving a small smile. "Because I believe you will still live on in the future. I think I know what happened to Ven's heart and why it ended up in me… You both know what we have to do. Vanitas, we'll have one more fight together, like you've always wanted. We'll fight with everything we have, to destroy these X-Blades, what do you both say?"

"..." Vanitas frowned, but he slowly nodded. "...Fine- one last battle." _And if I win… I guess the X-Blades stay for me to use as I please. _He held up both Keyblades, beginning to spin them. "Let's finish this- playtime's over!"

Ventus and Roxas floated a few feet back, both of them smiling- it almost felt like they were about to battle a friend and rival instead of an evil, power hungry psychopath. Roxas turned his Kingdom Key into Oathkeeper and re-summoned Oblivion to his other hand, he did promise to go all out and he intended to keep that. "One more battle, we'll do it together."

"And we're doing it for our friends, _all of us_." Ven said in agreement.

Vanitas sighed in slight irritation, but despite himself, a small grin emerged on his face. _Heh… I suppose he's right, in a way…_

He charged at Ventus and Roxas, all of them spinning their Keyblades, and thinking the same thing. _No matter what… we're all connected in the end._

* * *

**DarkFoxKit: *whistles* Yeah, we took a page from the novel and used it here. I would like to think if Roxas had indeed been there, he could've made Vanitas understand, and maybe even make him a friend. Maybe it was a bit OOC for Vanitas, but we think this is still a possibility. Now then- oh great, where's my co-author? Key… Key… hurry… they're waiting for us to answer their questions! … KEY! GET YOUR TAIL OVER HERE NOW!**

**Key2DestNE: WAH! B-but I was working on another story, and-**

**DarkFoxKit: *points at the reviews* Answer. Questions. NOW!**

**Key2DestNE: Y-yes ma'am… er… well, CatLoverx33, as you can tell they're certainly trying their hardest! Whether it'll work or not, though… that's the question. Antex, I'm glad to see we made you speechless! :D**

**DarkFoxKit: FlightfootKeyseeker, that's a good question, but since Roxas is a Nobody, I would imagine he's like a suit for Ventus's body and Vanitas to control. What do you think Key?**

**Key2DestNE: That's most likely the case, yeah- at the very least, it's our explanation! Reishin Amara, yeah, it is a shocking moment for every single one of our reviewers! :3 But at least it isn't a Lord Shyamalan kind of plot twist.**

**DarkFoxKit: And if the two X-Blade were to fuse… I'll leave that up to the imagination. Tjthereader99, I'm glad to see you and everyone else love that twist! And it's not a drive form, but I guess you could call it a 'pseudo Drive'. If Roxas had died… he'd fade away, and I'll let Key answer what would happen if he died and future Ven's heart is released. *pushes Key in front***

**Key2DestNE: W-wah! ...Er… well… if he died and future Ven's heart was released, it would cause a paradox. As it is, space-time's already being forced to take a lot of strain due to Young Xehanort's time travel and Roxas's impromptu time travel session! I'd hate to see things get muddled up even more…**

**DarkFoxKit: ShinyKeysXII, thank you for being such a loyal fan! We appreciate that you were reading it even if it's with your phone. We're happy to know you love it so much! And yeah, Roxas having Terra's armor come to life was a pretty big deal among our fans too.**

**Key2DestNE: I mean, look at how people reacted last chapter when it initially happened! *wink* You can now see how strong the guy is, so yeah… Vanitas and Roxas were too similar to not do anything about them. I mean, come on, they're too close to not do anything on! As for the comment being 'pointless', hey, at least it cheered us up! *grins***

**DarkFoxKit: KPGirl1227, yes, it's quite a twist wasn't it? Poor Roxas, the boy's suffering so much for our amusement. But as for your question/concern, this chapter should answer that already, we're focusing on Roxas- we've even stated in an early chapter that this is Roxas's story. Not Terra's, not Aqua's, not Ventus's, just Roxas.**

**Key2DestNE: Exactly. We'll still bring the others up once in a while as their stories collide, just like in the game itself, but apart from that it's focused on Roxas. FantasySword92375, I'm glad to see you found the fight to be hardcore- it is pretty obvious in hindsight, but hindsight IS 20/20…**

**DarkFoxKit: I'm surprised we did such a good job with the battle scenes, since they're hard to do in written form. And the fact that it's too crazy to think Vanitas WOULD do that, probably kept it from being predicted. And I feel honored to hear that Roxas's Story could be considered a DLC story for Birth by Sleep. :3**

**Key2DestNE: Speculator, it's possible that the timing was at the same time- but either way, Ven/Vanitas's fight ended a moment or two before Vanitas/Aqua and Mickey's fight, with the X-Blade shattering at the end of both fights.**

**DarkFoxKit: You confused me when you went on about 'paradoxes' and 'god-like entity'. I assumed you meant the X-Blade? Well there's not really a paradox since, as the voice stated to Roxas before, this has happened already, even if nobody remembers.**

**Key2DestNE: Exactly! Everything happens as it did before, just slightly differently since peoples' memories have to shift to fill in the blank of Roxas.**

**DarkFoxKit: Hope you don't die before we get to the ending! All I can say is, we're getting there. Is that all?**

**Key2DestNE: Uh… yeah, it is! *smiles* I guess that's it for now! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, guys~**

**DarkFoxKit: Until next time everyone! I am DarkFoxKit and this is Key2DestNE and we look forward to hearing from you!**


	24. Chapter 23: The Final Four- Ventus pt 3

**DarkFoxKit: Let's see how our lovely reviewers have been fairing. *clicks on reviews and- KA-BOOOOOM! … DarkFoxKit and Key2DestNE were literally knocked back by the explosion and floods of reviews* …. Ooookay… I can see we have a LOT to cover in this AN.**

**Key2DestNE: …. O_O *is drowning in the reviews… again* SAVE ME, FOX! WE HAVE TOO MANY REVIIIIIIEWS!**

**DarkFoxKit: *is swimming to get out of the fans reviews and grabs Key* We should be safe up on the roof. *sighs in relief* … Er… hey readers, uh… please ignore the floating reviews in the background… I'm sure you are all really excited to see the final part of Ventus's Final Four chapter.**

**Key2DestNE: No kidding… *grumbles* They're probably fanboying or fangirling about this chapter being up as we speak!**

**DarkFoxKit: Geez, if they went THIS nuts over Ventus, I don't want to KNOW what they'll do once we get into the last two Final Fours! O_O' Ahem… uh… anyways… Key and I don't own Kingdom Hearts, they belong to Square Enix and Disney respectively, we just do the concept- WAAAH! *got pulled by a ravage fan that popped out of the reviews!* HEEEELP!**

**Key2DestNE: NOOOO, FOOOOOX! … *pulls out some popcorn and begins to munch it* ..What, did you really think I'd help her? That girl's a lost cause- I'm not risking my own life when there's no way to get her out!**

**DarkFoxKit: *jumps and pounces Key into the flood* WHAT DID YOU SAY-!? *static***

* * *

**Chapter 23: The Final Four- Ventus- Part 3**

Although they had fought hard, Aqua and Mickey, along with their friend's spirits help, were tired and weakened. Roxas-Vanitas wielding both X-Blades was far too powerful, much more powerful than anything either of them had faced!

Mickey groaned, feeling his whole body aching from the fight he had just had- even his tail was sore! "A-Aqua… we… we have to do _something_ else…"

The blue-haired Keyblade Master panted, feeling all three Keyblades around her growing heavier as her exhaustion began to overwhelm her. "I… I know." _I can't just give up… Terra, Ven, and Roxas all believe in me- I have to keep fighting! But how can I beat Vanitas when he has _two_ X-Blades…?_

Roxas-Vanitas was about to strike them down, but he stopped suddenly, his eyes wide as he gave a small gasp and stumbled back a bit, surprising Aqua and Mickey. "N-no… I…" Both X-Blades suddenly cracked before they sent out a small shockwave, sending him flying into the ground! "GAH!"

The two powerful blades flew into the air, light pouring off of them and beginning to break the ground itself!

"Wh-what's going on!?" Aqua yelled as she and Mickey were forced back.

"It looks like the X-Blade broke and is going out of control!" Mickey yelled back, feeling the light pushing him back slightly.

"But what does that mean!?" Aqua asked as she and Mickey were struggling against the heavy winds.

"I-I don't know, but it can't be good!" the mouse replied, frowning worriedly. "If Ven and Roxas are still in there, I hope they're okay!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Roxas grunted, trying to force Vanitas's two X-Blades with his own Keyblade. "C'mon, c'mon…!" _I just need to put in a _tiny_ bit more, and we'd win this clash! As it is… it's a stalemate!_

Ven groaned as he hacked at the X-Blades as hard as he could, glancing at his friend. "I don't think this is working!"

Vanitas jumped back and said, giving a small smirk, "Of course it's not. I activated the D-Link, remember? The only way to get rid of the X-Blades now is to try and fight the fusion itself."

"Both of us or just you and Ven?" Roxas asked.

"All three of us." Vanitas answered with a shrug. "You're in here too, idiot, so you have to do your part."

"Right… Okay, let's try this again!" Ven nodded, beginning to spin his Keyblade.

Roxas and Vanitas both nodded, the black-haired boy charging both blonds as they slashed at him. The three of them were spinning their Keyblades together, covered in light. Roxas was covered in white light, while Ven was blue and Vanitas was yellow. Both of them were fighting against Vanitas and his X-Blades, no matter how hard it seemed. Roxas put more power into Ven, taking advantage of his ability to absorb some of his powers. Finally, they managed to knock Vanitas back.

"Did it work?" Roxas asked, frowning curiously.

"No, we have to do it a few more times! The X-Blade isn't exactly easy to break you know!" Vanitas called from the other side.

"It might be the wrong time to say this, but this is so weird." Ven chuckled from beside the Nobody. "I mean, Vanitas is sort of on _our_ side now, instead of _against_ us! I never thought I'd see the day…"

Vanitas smirked, shaking his head in amusement. "Oh please- we're just working together for a common cause, don't act like we should be _fighting_!" he said sarcastically, beginning to spin his X-Blades again.

Roxas rolled his eyes bemusedly, before getting an idea. "...Ven…" He began whispering to his look-alike, and the boy blinked in surprise.

Ven looked back at Roxas, frowning a bit. "...Are you sure we should do that, Roxas? It'd hurt Vanitas a lot…" _And I can't _believe_ I said that…_

"Vanitas can handle it, we need to give this everything we've got, Ven." Roxas said to him before his look alike sighed and nodded.

"Alright, let's do it!" Ven and Roxas flew towards Vanitas, who waited for them to get close.

"Now!" Roxas suddenly cried out, flying much faster now!

Ven nodded, his entire body beginning to glow! "LIGHT!" Ventus's light blinded Vanitas, the X-Blades shuddering in his hands at the sudden imbalance of light and darkness.

"FREEZE!" Roxas shot out Blizzaraga crystals at Vanitas's X-Blades, causing them to turn to ice. Then he came in close and slashed at them as hard as he could with Oblivion and Oathkeeper! There was a loud CLANG! But that only broke the ice, the X-Blades were still intact.

"Try again." Vanitas said as he pushed Roxas back. "I felt the X-Blades shudder when you did- we've almost got this!"

Ven nodded, his body glowing even more. "LIGHT!" he cried out again. It was to all of their surprise, when the X-Blades began to grow crystals emitting their own light! "W-what the!?"

"The X-Blades are made from your heart too, Ventus!" Roxas reminded him.

Vanitas just gave a smirk and said with a nod, "Of course it is, so it would react to the immense light coming from him as well as the darkness coming from me."

Roxas then remembered that he had gained the power to control at least one X-Blade earlier, which he had found strange to say the least. "I wonder…" He dismissed Oblivion and held up his hand, one of the X-Blade moved out of Vanitas's hand and over to his.

"How are you able to use one?" Ven asked Roxas, blinking in surprise.

"I think it's because I have your heart in the future Ven, so it probably thinks I'm you." Roxas answered with a shrug.

"But that doesn't explain why it only goes to _you_." Ven frowned.

"Probably because…" Roxas chuckled a bit to himself. "I have very strange powers, apparently I can cause Keyblades to float."_ I wonder if this X-Blade is the future Ven's heart, is that why it keeps responding to me?_

Ven and Vanitas blinked at that before they both chuckled. Vanitas held up his X-Blade, currently covered in the light crystals. "Well then… we'd better finish this off, don't you think?"

"Right, let's do this!" Roxas floated up for a minute before diving at Vanitas with the X-Blade in his hand while Vanitas fought back with the other X-Blade, both slamming hard into each other!

Ven came in just as the X-Blades slammed into each other and slammed his own Keyblade into the middle! To everyone's relief, the one of the X-Blades finally began to crack, the metal weakening before both of the X-Blades flew out of both their wielders' hands!

* * *

Vanitas grunted, feeling his heart beginning to weaken. "I…" He smirked slightly, his body slowly falling to the floor. "At least… I made the right… decision in the end… right…?"

Ven himself also felt weakened as he began glowing. Roxas looked down at Vanitas, nodding with a smile. "Yes… you did. It's too bad… we never get to meet… in the future. I think… we could've… been great friends."

Vanitas gave a faint grin, his eyes closing. "Yeah… I think so… too…" He gave a small chuckle, his head tilting back. "I… I'll miss you… my rival." Then he smirked, adding as his X-Blade finally broke apart, "And Ventus too… of course."

Ven gave a weak smile, looking down at his dark half as his own Keyblade disappeared in a flash of light. "Heh… just think… we could've been… friends all… this time. I guess… Xehanort… really messed… _all _of us up."

Roxas nodded, feeling slightly weak, but nowhere near as much as his two friends. "I'll… miss you both. Ven… Vanitas…" He smiled a bit, closing his eyes. "Here's hoping… we meet again… in the next life." _I feel worse for Vanitas… he won't remember me, and… that means he won't… ever have been considered our friend._

The Nobody opened his eyes again, just in time to see Vanitas fading away into the reforming ground, and Ven himself also faded, turning into an orb of light… his heart… and began floating up into the blackness.

Roxas saw one of the X-Blades, this one wasn't broken, but it was the one he had been using, turned into another orb of light, and it flew slowly towards him, floating in front of the remaining boy. The Nobody looked at it for a second before he gave a small, sad smile. "Guess now I know… what happened to you… Ventus."

The orb paused for a moment, as if looking at Roxas, before suddenly flying into the boy's chest. Roxas gasped, feeling his whole being fill with something he didn't even realize he had lost- a heart… The boy, surprised at the orb but feeling a warmth coming from his chest, where the orb flew into, put his hands over it as he closed his eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mickey grunted, feeling the winds nearly pushing him _all_ the way back. Then he gasped, seeing Roxas-Ventus-Vanitas suddenly split into two figures- Ventus and the Nobody himself! "Ven! Roxas!"

Roxas and Ven lay there, Ven being unconscious and Roxas barely conscious and about to join his twin, on the ground as Aqua and Mickey ran to them. They quickly checked to see if they were still alive, but suddenly, the X-Blades above them exploded! They turned into a huge explosion of light, engulfing everyone as Aqua held on tightly to both of her friends.

Roxas thought he heard Terra's voice again, one last time before he lost consciousness. _"Aqua… Ven… Roxas… One day, I'll make things right. And Roxas? Just so you know, I won't be forgetting about you any time soon- no matter what you think…_

* * *

The next thing Roxas knew, he was waking up in a familiar looking room. Aqua gave a smile of relief when she saw he had woken up, crying out, "Roxas!" She hugged him tightly, resisting the urge to cry.

"Whoa!" Roxas still hasn't gotten used to her hugs, but that didn't mean he didn't like it. "Ow… easy Aqua… everything kinda hurts."

Aqua ignored his small complaints, still holding him close to her. "You're okay… You- you woke up…!" _I can't believe it- it's almost like a dream…! Ven still hasn't woken up… but Roxas _did_\- he's gonna be alright!_

Roxas realized he was still wearing his black cloak, he had kinda forgotten about it. Then he looked over at Ven, who was still unconscious. He frowned in confusion, slowly shaking the blond lookalike. "...Ven? Ven, wake up- c'mon!"

"I am sorry, Roxas, Aqua…" Yen Sid suddenly spoke up, surprising Roxas- he hadn't even realized where he was until he saw the old wizard. "But Ventus's heart is sleeping, and he cannot wake up."

"What? You mean Ven won't… _ever_ wake up?" Aqua said sadly, frowning as she felt her blood running cold at the thought of never seeing her friend, one whom she considered a younger brother, awaken again.

Roxas frowned, but he remembered what had happened before- he had seen both Vanitas and Ven fade away, and Ven's heart is lost somewhere in the darkness. _Ven…_ Roxas still wasn't sure how Ven's heart ended up in him, but he's beginning to get an idea.

Yen Sid shook his head, however, continuing to speak. "For now, it is almost as if his heart has left- however, if the boy's heart returns, he may very well wake."

Aqua frowned, thinking for a moment, before she looked up, a determined glint in her eyes. "I'll keep him safe until he wakes up- _forever_, if I have to!" She turned to Ven, stroking his cheek sadly. _I'll miss you, Ven… but I _know_ you'll return someday- and I'll wait until then!_

Roxas felt bad, because if future Ven's heart was in_ him_ and not the real Ventus… then that means… _He must still be asleep 11 years in the future. That's… a long time to be sleeping._

Then he noticed Mickey, along with Donald and Goofy, the two friends that he had seen with Sora in his dreams- he couldn't help but give them a smile, almost as if he knew them for a long time. "Hey Mickey… are these two your friends?"

The mouse nodded, smiling at the magician and knight, but before he could speak, Yen Sid interrupted him, shaking his head. "I will tell you right now, what your friend does not need is your _protection_\- he needs you to _believe_." Aqua and Roxas both blinked at that, confused. "You see, Ventus's heart hangs in the balance- it sleeps in the place between light and darkness." He turned away, beginning to examine something on his desk. "From what I can perceive, this means he will be looking for a_ friend_\- one who believes in him, to show him the way home. Just as long as you love him… then Ventus will be able to find you when he wakes. He can follow that love back to where he belongs- the realm of light."

Roxas took all of that to heart, he nodded as Aqua nodded too. The Nobody turned to look back at the sleeping Ven, the look alike boy he became friends with, the first person he met in this timeline, and the one who saved him from becoming like how Vanitas was before. He gave a soft smile, muttering under his breath, "Yeah… You're right Yen Sid- maybe all he needs is a friend after all."

Mickey smiled, turning to both of his fellow Keyblade Wielders. "Don't you worry, guys- I believe in Ven too. Gosh, he's been as good a friend to me as _anybody_!" Both Aqua and Mickey glanced at Ventus as the mouse continued to speak. "And if we _all_ believe in Ven, then he'll have _three_ lights to follow, instead of just two!"

Aqua shook her head, smiling. "No, you're missing one- Terra too." Mickey blinked before he glanced to the side. "Hey… Terra might be gone for now, but I think… I know how to find him." She pulled out her Wayfinder at that, giving a fond smile to it.

"Terra…" Roxas said, looking at the Wayfinder in his hand. "Yeah… he gave everything he had to stop Xehanort and protect us. I couldn't do much for him… I just wish I could've stopped him."

"Oh… it's okay, it was out of your control." Roxas looked up at the knight. The Nobody blinked, wondering why Goofy was telling him that.

"Yeah, you've tried everything you could, no reason to get upset." Donald spoke too, giving him a small smile.

Roxas gave a chuckle- even here, 11 years in the past, they remain loyal friends with Sora even if he is the boy's Nobody. "Thanks guys… I appreciate it." Then he looked over at Aqua, frowning thoughtfully. "So what are we going to do with Ven's body until we can find his heart?"

The blue-haired Keyblade Master shrugged, slowly picking up the sleeping boy's body. "For now? I'll try to find a place to keep him safe… Then I'll go after Terra." She gave a soft smile, putting her Wayfinder back in her pocket. "You can come along if you want- I'm sure he'll be glad to see _two_ friends searching for him and not just one."

Roxas looked down at himself and said softly, "Well I haven't left yet, so why not? Let's go."

"What do you mean you haven't left yet?" Mickey asked him curiously, tilting his head. "Are you going somewhere?"

"It's a bit complicated." Roxas said as Aqua put Ven's body on her back. "Let's just say my time here has always been temporary."

* * *

Mickey blinked curiously, but he didn't ask anymore as Aqua walked down the stairs, Roxas following her. Right as they got outside, Ven's hand began to move! "V-Ven?" the woman carrying him asked hopefully.

Roxas jumped back in shock, his eyes wide. "Wah! I think he's a zombie!"

"Oh don't be so ridiculous Roxas!" Aqua rolled her eyes at his sudden fear, gently bobbing his head with one hand while the other supported her sleeping friend. "Ven would _never_ be a zombie!"

Unfortunately (or fortunately), both of them were wrong, as the boy summoned his Keyblade while still asleep, pointing it forward and making a door of light appear. Aqua blinked before readjusting her grip on her friend. "...Alright- if that's where you want to go, Ven… lead on."

"... If someone suddenly creates a door of light while unconscious, I wouldn't usually go _into_ the door." Roxas grumbled under his breath, but he reluctantly followed Aqua into the door regardless of this.

* * *

As soon as they could see, both Keyblade Wielders wished they couldn't. It was the Land of Departure, or what was left of it- the place was almost completely demolished, only a part of the ground remaining along with a chunk of the main building. Aqua's eyes teared up, seeing her home in such a sad state, before she noticed a familiar Keyblade in front of her… Eraqus's Keyblade, all that remained of the man who had once lived here. She slowly picked it up, remembering how this whole thing started.

Roxas walked up beside her, looking around in shock. "Xehanort _destroyed_ this place… I guess he wanted to prove how strong he was and to destroy whatever remaining light was still in Terra." Then he looked at her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry this all happened. I wish it didn't, this must be hard for you to see."

Aqua faintly nodded, beginning to walk inside the castle. "It… it is. But…" She gave a small smile, despite the tears in her eyes. "I… I think I know why Ven brought us here." Roxas gave her a curious look, so she explained as she walked in, keeping her eyes on the ground to try and ignore the carnage of this place. "If… if Master Eraqus had ever… disappeared… and the legions of darkness arrived… he asked me to take his Keyblade, and lock the land away- because it's a perfect balance of light and darkness, and there are those who would abuse that power…"

"He told this to you before all of this happened?" Roxas asked her as he followed her to the three thrones, where Eraqus and Xehanort had sat during the exam. "So, you're just going to lock this place away?"

Aqua slowly nodded, placing Ven on the middle throne. "Along with Ven… Hopefully, it will keep him safe- while all others who visit this land, apart from you and me, become lost in oblivion." At Roxas's startled look, she hastily added, "Master Eraqus's words, not mine- I'd rather they were just sent away."

"Sounds rather dangerous." Roxas frowned, crossing his arms. "But I guess…" He looked back at the sleeping Ven, slowly nodding. "...If it's for the best, then do it."

The one remaining Keyblade Master nodded, and she walked around to the back of the thrones before Eraqus's Keyblade glowed, revealing a keyhole all too familiar to Roxas. Aqua gulped before she forced the Keyblade closer to it, causing it to glow brighter and brighter.

When the glowing finally stopped, Roxas and Aqua opened their eyes, seeing how different the place looked… it was so _white_! Roxas gave a frown as he looked around, the entire room looked… familiar somehow, like he'd seen it somewhere before. The Nobody looked out the window, and saw the land around them had completely changed. _This world… it almost looks like… Castle Oblivion._

Aqua didn't notice Roxas's thoughts, however, gently patting Ven's shoulder as the boy slept on a large white throne. "Hey… I know it's a lonely place, but you'll be safe- Terra, Roxas, and I will be back to wake you up before you know it." She paused as if waiting for a response before sighing and standing straight, beginning to walk out of the room. "...Come on Roxas, let's go- Terra's probably looking for us as we speak."

Roxas turned back to her, looking at Ven once more and said quietly, "Um… actually Aqua, before we go, could I try something first?"

"Oh? What is it?" the blue haired woman asked, blinking in surprise.

The Nobody bent down to Ven and said, "I want to see if maybe I could help guide his heart before we leave, just to make sure it's somewhere safe." _And I have a pretty good idea where it should go…_

Aqua frowned in confusion, but she slowly nodded, seeing how determined Roxas looked. "Well… if you want to try, go ahead- I won't try to stop you."

Roxas nodded and gave her a smile. "Thanks Aqua." Then he put his hand on Ventus's chest and closed his eyes, looking for the connection with his heart.

* * *

Roxas found himself floating in the darkness again, without his black coat and back in his original clothing this time. The Nobody was floating, looking- he could sense Ven's heart was nearby. Roxas didn't stop, even if it felt like hours, until he finally found the blond-haired look-alike boy, floating aimlessly around.

"Ventus!" Roxas called out to him, waking up the sleeping boy. "Ven, are you alright?"

Ven blinked sleepily, slowly turning to the Nobody beside him. "...Roxas…? What… how are you… here?" He looked around sluggishly, yawning. "Where… is _here_…?"

Despite the situation, Roxas couldn't help but give a chuckle. "Now you sound like me when _I_ first woke up in the darkness. Listen Ven… do you remember anything?"

Ven blinked slowly, confused. "...Huh? What… what do you mean, Roxas?" He frowned softly, turning to face the boy.

"Do you remember what happened… between us and Vanitas?" Roxas asked him. "Your heart fled your body and right now you're stumbling between light and darkness… which I guess is kinda like twilight."

Ven blinked before giving a small chuckle. "Like twilight… huh…?" He grinned lightly, his eyes unfocused. "Well… I guess I'm here for a while… huh…?"

Roxas shook his head- seeing how tired Ventus looked, he wanted to make sure his friend is safe first. "Listen to me, Ven… I know we don't have much time before you have to go back to sleep. I don't want you stumbling out here, alone and lost." He took the sleepy boy's hand. "Come with me, I know where to take you."

Ventus slowly nodded, giving his friend's hand a small squeeze. "A...alright… Lead on, Roxas. I'll… follow you…" He closed his eyes, but now he had a small smile.

Roxas smiled at the trust, and he gently pulled the look alike with him. "I can't return you to your body as you are now… so… I think I might know someone who will be willing to help you until you recover."

As the Nobody continued to move forward in the darkness, Ven slowly began opening his eyes again, feeling a familiar warm light, and it was emitting with Roxas's own light as if synchronized. "We're almost there… just a little longer, Ven."

Soon, Roxas stopped over what appears to be another platform that seemed similar to the one that was in Ventus's heart during their battle with Vanitas, only this one looked like something a child would put on, and there stood a smaller Sora, who seemed to be looking around for someone.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" the younger Sora called out, still glancing around.

Roxas turned to Ven, and he gave him a small smile, gesturing to the boy. "Here… I'm sure this kid will take good care of you."

"... That kid… I think I know him… he saved me when I almost died… after Xehanort split me and Vanitas up." Ven spoke as he looked at the kid below them, but he looked at Roxas again, knowing once he goes to that kid… they may never see each other again.

Roxas gave him a small chuckle, gently shoving Ven's shoulder. "What? You look like someone kicked your puppy or something." But even the Nobody sounded sad, knowing this was good-bye.

Ven frowned a bit, giving Roxas a small hug. "Roxas… I… I'll miss you…" He smiled, glancing down at Sora. "Thanks again… for _everything_ you've done for me." _For being like a twin brother to me… and for helping me when I was lost…_

The Nobody wanted to say: _'Well I guess it's too bad you won't remember me once this is all over with.'_ But he decided not to spoil this moment, he didn't want to send Ven off on such a sad note, so instead, he said, "Well… I _do_ owe you for saving me back at the Keyblade Graveyard. I hope you'll be able to recover soon."

Ven nodded softly, reluctantly letting go of his look-alike. "Yeah… I hope so too... Good-bye Roxas, take care out there for me." With that, he began to gently fall down to Sora, turning into an orb of light as he did so.

Roxas silently watched the interaction between his younger original self and Ven. "I heard your voice… it cut through the darkness around me." Ven said as the younger Sora held out his hands for the orb of light. "I followed it all with a friend's help… and found myself in a sea of light, with you." Sora nodded, understanding so far, as Ven continued. "You gave _me_ something back when I needed it most… a second chance."

"I did?" Sora tilted his head a bit, but kept smiling, as if being with a close friend. "Well, I'm happy that I could help."

"You did, a lot. But… now I have to go to sleep again." Ven said sadly, and he seemed to glance up at Roxas. "And leave my friends… for a while at least."

Sora frowned a bit, sensing his sadness, and Roxas blinked, seeing the boy's _spikes_ tilting down with his emotions. "Are you sad? I'm sure your friends will miss you… I know I would miss Riku if he had to go away for a long time."

Ven chuckled softly, before he took a deep 'breath'. "Would you mind… if I stayed here with you, Sora? So you can keep me company while I rest?"

The kid gave him a smile and nodded, shrugging. "Sure, if it'll make you feel better! Maybe I can meet with your friends and tell them you're okay!"

Ven's heart nodded, sounding grateful. "Thank you so much Sora…" The brown-haired boy gave a soft smile as the orb of light entered his chest, taking refuge in the boy's body as Roxas noticed another Dive to the Heart platform a little bit away from Sora's own.

The Nobody, curious, slowly moved towards the platform, looking over at it. He blinked as he recognized the platform in a heartbeat. "Ven…" Roxas gave a small smile, crossing his arms. "You better take good care of him, Sora." _Now I know why Ven's heart was inside me… when Sora stabbed himself with the Keyblade and turned into a Heartless, he must've released Ventus's heart too, and it ended up in me because I was Sora's Nobody. _That's_ why I look and sound like Ven- because, in a way, I came from _both_ of them._

* * *

Finally, Roxas opened his eyes, seeing a concerned Aqua looking at him worriedly. He gave a soft smile, turning to his friend. "Well… I think he's safe and sound for now, Aqua- I even got a few answers of my own while guiding his heart."

"I'm glad… I'm just happy you're okay, Roxas. I didn't want to end up losing _both _of you now." Aqua said with a relieved smile.

The Nobody stood up and nodded to her, clenching his fist determinedly. "Well… until Ven's heart recovers, we'll just have to go find Terra in the mean time. But Aqua… there's something about Terra that you should know first."

The blue-haired woman blinked, looking at him in confusion. "Really? What… is it Roxas? Did you see where he went?"

Roxas shook his head, frowning. "I don't know where he is right now, but… something happened to him during his fight with Xehanort. Xehanort was doing more than just forging the X-Blade- he was also looking for a suitable younger body that he can take control of, and he had been manipulating Terra's darkness in order to use it to control Terra… I was frozen in ice at the time, but I tried everything I could to stop it… Xehanort stabbed himself with his Keyblade, released his heart and went into Terra, taking him over. I… I tried to save him Aqua, I really did… but I couldn't…"

Aqua's eyes widened, and she gasped softly, her legs quickly growing weak. "W… what?" She frowned, before she grabbed Roxas's shoulders tightly. "Did- did he… did anything else happen after that? _Please_ tell me there was something else!"

Roxas gave her a nod, remembering it. "Yes, something else did happen. I don't think Terra is completely gone. I saw a trace of him, he's still there, I _know_ it. And I helped him be able to fight back against Xehanort, but… I was thrown off the cliff before I could see what happened after that."

Aqua blinked at that, and she was frozen for a few seconds before finally sighing in relief. "Oh… he's still in there?" Roxas nodded, and she gave a smile, clenching her fist determinedly. "Then there's still a chance he defeated Xehanort- at the very least, I want to find him and see if he's okay!"

Roxas nodded, giving a grin of his own. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking. We can still find him, and get him back- it'll be complicated, but I know we can do it!"

Aqua smiled, turning and beginning to walk out of the castle. "Right… I'll meet you outside when you're ready, Roxas- I have to see what the Land of Departure… my home… looks like now."

Roxas gave her a nod, glancing around himself. "Right, you do that." The Nobody turned around and sighed, Aqua leaving out the front door. "So… Castle Oblivion… can't believe it was once the Land of Departure. Didn't Axel say he had to come here a lot? Xion was born here too…" He chuckled to himself, thinking about it. "Ironically… this place seems to come back to haunt me a lot- three of my friends have something to do with this castle…"

* * *

**DarkFoxKit: Yes, yes it does Roxas.**

**Key2DestNE: …You love that line too much, ya know that?**

***The two authors were somewhere in a dark cave, with nothing but a fire keeping them warm and light.***

**DarkFoxKit: Well it's the truth! … And yes, we are in hiding from the ravenous fans- we love you guys, really we do, but… we can easily be overwhelmed. *looks out the cave and quickly looked away* They're hunting us as we speak Key, just hurry and state your opinion on the chapter and we can get to the reviews.**

**Key2DestNE: O-okay, okay… well, to be honest, if I wasn't the one that wrote it… I'd probably be the same way as the reviewers out there… *sweatdrops***

**DarkFoxKit: Were you crying when Roxas had to say good-bye to Ventus?**

**Key2DestNE: YES! Poor Roxaaaaaas! *begins sobbing***

**DarkFoxKit: *pats his back* There, there, calm down… we have to be strong and get to the reviews, we've got a lot to cover.**

**Key2DestNE: … *sniff, sniff* ...O… okay… *ahem!* CatLoverx33, I'm glad you felt the same way we did. And especially that we gave you such strong feels~**

**DarkFoxKit: Yeah, I kinda wished that was the 'ending' for BBS too. thekhfan, wow! I'm so very flattered to hear that you'd go to such extremes just to read this story- seems that our story was so good that it made some obsessive compulsiveness come into people! I have to admit, even though I'm one of the authors who wrote the story, I enjoy reading it again and again too.**

**Key2DestNE: Also, glad to see we have another shipper~ :3 Guest… there's a manga series of the games- look it up! Antex, buddy, glad to hear from your- ...Your, er… dead self… Seriously, get that checked out. Glad to hear that you enjoyed our way of wrapping up the Vanitas story- I hope it wasn't too OOC for him!**

**DarkFoxKit: Another Guest… err… I don't support yaoi, sorry. Fantasysword, well I'm glad to know we had a twist that nobody saw coming, yet at the same time, it makes sense! Yes, Vanitas is such a tragic guy- you can't help but feel sorry for him even though he was pretty nasty in the games. And those Drive forms you mentioned, that actually would've been good if we had Drive forms in this story. And it's always sad to be near the end of a good story, but also very satisfying to read a completed good story too.**

**Key2DestNE: FlightfootKeyseeker, yeah, everybody will forget Roxas- it is canon, after all, and we must stick to it! Hakumei-chan, glad to hear you enjoyed us mentioning the novel~ But yeah, the feels are quite painful, aren't they? :3 KPGirl, I suppose it would've been cooler if Roxas shared his memories too, but we hadn't thought of that… As for Key2Kitten being hidden behind couches, don't worry, I noticed- I just didn't mention it! :3**

**DarkFoxKit: Timpani Bleck, you know, the majority of the reviews that sank us was yours, and we loved it! However, we're only going to answer your latest one. So when Roxas called Vanitas Sora because he saw his face for the first time, you actually thought it was Sora? Heh… wonder what it must've been like for you then.**

**Key2DestNE: *chuckles* She probably flipped out~ Yeah, we took a lot from the novel since it is sort of canon… but yeah, you caught up. Sorry you had to catch up so soon! Farisama Heiko, glad to hear you enjoyed the chapter~ As for another story… well… it's possible. :3**

**DarkFoxKit: It's still undecided, but maybe, who knows? And thank you for loving us, we appreciate it~ DPSS… well, considering this is technically done with prequels, I think it's safe to say it has a sequel or two. But if you meant our fanfiction in general then… uh… dunno about that.**

**Key2DestNE: Speculator, yeah, we enjoyed putting the novels into this~ Of course I'm gonna get that BBS novel, I don't know about Fox!**

**DarkFoxKit: Eh, it depends if I can find it and how much they cost, money's kinda tight so we have to be pretty stingy with it. And yes, Vanitas does have quite a sad backstory. Well, I'd have to say in the canon he certainly wasn't on our side, however, I do have a strong feeling, after seeing Vanitas's backstory, that perhaps if he had met Roxas, that could've been different, hence his change in attitude in this chapter.**

**Key2DestNE: Well, that's all the reviews- and oh boy, there were a lot!**

**DarkFoxKit: Yeah, no kidding. Despite our hiding away though, we do appreciate all who reviewed, and happy to see your thoughts on the rest of the story as it slowly but surely comes to an end. It's been a long journey, but the, ahem, 'DLC' story is just about over. *looks out of the cave* … I think it's safe… should we make a break for it?**

**Key2DestNE: Y-yeah, I think so… let's do it on the count of 3! 1… 2…! *he suddenly paled, seeing a dust wave off in the distance* ...Oh geez…**

**DarkFoxKit: …. RUN! *grabs Key and makes a break for it* Oh boy, if our fans are THIS crazy BEFORE the end, I don't want to stick around to see what they'll do AFTER it ends!**

**Key2DestNE: No kidding- from now on we're recording these Authors Notes in advance! *a fangirl bit at his heels* Yipe! GO FASTER, FOX, FASTER!**

**DarkFoxKit: WAAH! I-I am DarkFoxKit, h-he's Key2DestNE, and- WATCH THE TAIL! W-we look forward to hearing from you, but STOP CHASING US! Key! Don't let go of the ca- *static* mera… *black***


	25. Chapter 24: The Final Four- Aqua

**DarkFoxKit: *slowly peeks out from the wall* …. Okay… I think it's safe to come out….**

**Key2DestNE: *is wearing a suit made of tinfoil and various pots and pans* Y-you're sure? We have so many reviewers now, it's scary! ;a;**

**DarkFoxKit: Just don't make too much noise and we should be good... Ahem… *looks into the camera* Well now… dear readers, we are starting to reach the climax of the story. As I'm sure you could tell by the title, this is now with Aqua!**

**Key2DestNE: Yeah… sadly, Ven's story is all but over, and so Roxas must go with Aqua. Still, I think you all are going to enjoy this chapter, so we'd better get to it before- *the ground began to tremble* … O_O RUN!**

**DarkFoxKit: Shhh! Don't move a muscle! *both authors froze on spot***

***Fans began running past the place in a stampede. As soon as they were gone, the two authors slowly relaxed***

**Key2DestNE: ...O-okay, now it's time for the chapter to begin! Neither Fox nor I own Kingdom Hearts, that's Disney and Square Enix! Roxas's Story's plot may be original, but it is based off of Birth By Sleep, which is also owned by Disney and Square Enix! Now if you'll excuse me, we need to hide.**

* * *

**Chapter 24: The Final Four- Aqua**

As Roxas was walking out of the hidden room with Ven inside, he paused, feeling a familiar presence. He paused, glancing around in confusion. "...Axel? Axel, is that you?"

All was silent for a moment… until someone gently slapped him upside the head. "Hey, I told you- it's _Lea_ now. Sheesh, you memorized the wrong name for me by now!"

Roxas rolled his eyes, turning to see his friend with a smirk on his face. "Hey! You have no one to blame but yourself, you always kept telling me to get your name, which was_ Axel_, memorized! So now you're paying for it."

Lea chuckled, shrugging. "I guess- doesn't mean I like it, but you make a good point there." Then he turned serious, crossing his arms. "...So… you've finally seen what happened 11 years ago. What do you think, Roxas… is it all making sense to you?" The man chuckled softly, shrugging as he smirked again. "Because if it is, can you explain it to _me_? I'm lost as to what happened here."

Roxas nearly fell and faceplanted, but he managed to recover with an angry frown. "Oh come on! You don't know?"

"Well to be fair, I was only watching from afar, you actually were _in _it." Lea pointed out with a shrug. "Of course I'd be a bit _less_ in the know as you."

Roxas sighed, palming his forehead in irritation. "What part don't you understand?"

The redhead frowned thoughtfully, crossing his arms. "...Personally? How the heck Castle Oblivion came into being like this- beforehand, it looked like a much larger castle when I tried to visit it."

"Well, Aqua used a special Keyblade to lock this world away. I guess that's what turned this place into the Castle Oblivion we come to know in our time." Roxas answered with a shrug. "And I guess you could never find whatever it was Xemnas told you to look for, because anyone who isn't Aqua, or apparently me now, will get lost in here, and apparently into oblivion, hence the name; Castle_ Oblivion_."

Lea instantly faceplanted the floor, before quickly getting back on his feet. "N-now hold on a sec! You mean to tell me that if I had just asked _you _to come along, and Xemnas agreed, _we'd have found that kid he said to look for here_!?" He groaned, rubbing his forehead in irritation. "Geez, he really sent the wrong guys for the job…"

"Wait, Xemnas sent you here to find Ven? Why?" Roxas asked, confused what Xemnas would want Ven's body for when he's clearly still in a coma.

Lea shrugged, crossing his arms thoughtfully. "Well, don't ask me… all I know is he was a crazy guy- apparently he would talk to _armor_ in his spare time, when not staring at the moon of course."

Roxas couldn't help but splutter in laughter as he covered his mouth with his hand. _Axel's got a point there, Xemnas is really nuts. But then again… he probably still has Terra's memories and thinks of Ven as a good friend or something… as strange as that sounds. Gee, I wonder what he thought of ME when he first went to recruit me- I hope he didn't think I _was_ Ven's Nobody…then again, he knew I was Sora's already, otherwise my name would have Ventus's name with an 'X' somewhere in it._

Lea then shook his head, growing serious once more. "So… you're heading out to find Terra, huh?" Roxas nodded, seeing the redhead glance away. "Then I'd suggest going to Radiant Garden- I may not know what happened, but… he's probably there since I saw the aftermath."

The younger Nobody looked at Lea before nodding. "Right, we'll go there next then. Um… Axel, do you know when I have to go back to my timeline? And… what about you? When are _you_ going back?"

Lea shrugged absently, glancing around. "I'm not sure to either of those answers. After all, we got here in different ways." Then he frowned, crossing his arms thoughtfully as he muttered, "And I still have to figure out what's bugging me about that third ice cream…"

Roxas gave a slight chuckle, making Lea look at him, in confusion. "You're still wondering about that, huh? Well… maybe you subconsciously remember a lost friend."

"A… lost friend?" Lea frowned, growing more confused by the second. _Why… does that sound so _familiar_ now?_

The Nobody nodded, shrugging. "You probably won't remember her even if I told you her name, but it's Xion. The three of us always hung out together before… well… things just got in the way."

Lea blinked, hearing that name ring out in his head. "Xion, huh…?" He frowned, thinking for a moment as he glanced around. _Xion, Xion… I… wait… _He paused before his eyes widened. _Xion…! That's _it_\- the reason that ice cream was so confusing to me was because…_ He suddenly felt weak, falling to the ground in shock, surprising Roxas. "I… Xion…!" He groaned, holding his head in irritation. _How in the worlds would I forget _her_!? I even promised to always be there for both of them, to bring Roxas and Xion _back_!_

* * *

"A-Axel! A-are you okay? What's wrong?" Roxas asked his old friend in concern, quickly kneeling to his level. _Does he remember her now?_

"...Heh…" Lea chuckled softly, shaking his head slowly. "Man… How the heck did you resist smacking me for _not_ remembering her, Roxas?" The Nobody blinked as the redhead looked up, into his best friend's eyes. "We _were_ close, after all- and I'm always insisting that _others_ get it memorized! I can be such an idiot at times, I swear…"

Roxas blinked a few times before smiling at him. "I think Castle Oblivion helped you remember her. But I don't think it'll last…"

"What? Why not?" Lea asked, not liking what the younger Nobody was saying. _I don't want to forget her _again_!_

Roxas sighed, crossing his arms sadly. "I only remembered Xion because I'm connected to her- even then it was hard for me to remember her at all. But when you leave here, Axel, the memories of her will slip away again from you."

"..." Lea groaned, slamming his fist into the ground angrily. "If I could write a note to myself, I would- and it'd say, 'Don't forget Xion'! Oy… I don't feel _as_ bad about forgetting her now, but it's still going to hurt if I remember her later on!"

Roxas gave his old friend a pat on the back, giving a small smile of acceptance. "It's not your fault. I wish you didn't have to forget her again, but at least there's someone who will remember her, that's more than enough for Xion, she's just happy any one of us remembered her at_ all_."

Lea sighed, tilting his head back in resignation before looking up at Roxas. "Heh… You can be such an adult at times." He smirked, ruffling his friend's hair playfully before standing up. "Well… I suppose I have to head to my own time soon- for me, all the mysteries are solved, so my test and mission here is done. I just hope that I passed that stupid exam, or else this would've been for _nothing_!"

"Yeah, good luck with that, it'd be nice if you could wield your own Keyblade too, Axel." Roxas smiled. "Too bad I won't be there to see it… not as myself anyway." Then he sighed. "Well… I also know how Xion feels, knowing once she leaves everyone will forget about her, like everyone here will forget about _me_… including Terra, Aqua and Ventus."

Lea blinked before he gave a small smirk, nudging Roxas. "Hey, _I'd_ remember you being here- wouldn't that be enough for you? Or are you not as _humble_ as our dear friend Xion?"

Roxas gave him a chuckle, shrugging. "I suppose that'll be good enough, at least I have _one_ witness to say I was in the past." Then he gave a sad smile to his old pyro friend. "So you're leaving now? I guess that means my time here is almost up too…"

The redhead smiled- not his regular, cocky smirk, but a small one, the kind Roxas had only seen him give once or twice before. "Yeah… I think so too- whoever sent you here wanted you to see a specific part of the past, like Yen Sid did with me." He began to flicker, similar to that younger Xehanort had, as he crossed his arms. Unlike that version of Xehanort, however, the pyro was also being covered with a soft yellow light. "So… unless he wants you to see the _entirety_ of the past, you've got a little bit left to go at best."

"Yeah, maybe he wants me to see what happened to Aqua before I have to go." Roxas said with a sigh. "Axel… I mean, Lea… is this the last time we'll ever see each other again? I'm sure you know what'll happen to me once I go back to _my_ timeline."

Lea shrugged, still smiling softly. "Who knows? It might be… and yet… I think my last memory before disappearing fully as Axel… was us meeting one last time." He then chuckled, flicking Roxas's forehead playfully. "You won't lose me that easily, kiddo!"

Roxas rubbed his forehead in pain, but the Nobody kept smiling at him as he watched the pyro disappearing before his eyes. "Yeah, and maybe one day, who knows, I might even come back for a second run. Good-bye Lea… here's hoping you get that Keyblade."

Lea nodded, giving his signature grin one last time before he disappeared in a flash of light. Roxas sighed, seeing his friend was finally gone, at least for now… and soon he'd be following in his footsteps. _I wonder… how am I going to tell Aqua…? After all… she deserves to know when I'm finally leaving._

* * *

Roxas finally came out of Castle Oblivion where Aqua was waiting. She almost couldn't believe how much the world had changed, but when she saw Roxas she gave him a nod. "Are you ready?"

The Nobody nodded, but he still wasn't sure how to tell her. "... Aqua, maybe we should go look in Radiant Garden. I just… something just tells me Terra might be there."

The blue-haired girl blinked before slowly nodding. "Right…" She gave a small smile, forming her armor once more as she formed the Keyblade Glider. "Let's go, Roxas- time to find Terra."

Roxas gave her a nod, glad that he still had his black coat on as it'll keep most of the darkness out even without the armor. _I want to tell her, but how will she take it? She's lost Terra and she's lost Ven… it might be too hard on her to know she's going to lose _me_ soon along with her memories of me._ The Nobody jumped onto her Glider, raising his hood. "Alright, let's do this."

Aqua blinked, not feeling the boy holding onto her shoulder like he had been every time he flew with someone… and it hurt a bit to know he didn't need her anymore. But she shook it off, beginning to fly towards Radiant Garden.

Roxas, in the end, decided not to tell Aqua about his soon-to-be disappearance- he wanted to tell her, but not yet, not until they find Terra. "Heh… hard to believe how long it's been... it felt like years honestly." Roxas said to Aqua as they were flying.

The blue-haired woman nodded, sighing. "Yeah… It almost feels like it's _been_ years since I've been to Radiant Garden, let alone since this whole thing started…" She chuckled to herself, shaking her head slowly. "And yet… it's only been about a month and a half- it's crazy…"

"Just goes to show that time itself doesn't matter, it's what you've been doing that shows the extent of time." Roxas said softly. "A seven day summer vacation could be as good as a two month one if you know how to spend it, especially with your friends. I guess the same could be said for this too- although we haven't known each other for very long, I feel like we've been friends for a long time. Do you feel the same way, Aqua?"

The Keyblade Master nodded, glancing at Roxas behind her. "Actually, yeah… It's almost like you're a little brother to me by now- I'm glad you're here to help me with Terra, because if you weren't, I… I don't know what I'd do." Roxas frowned at that, feeling guilty for not telling her- but before he could say anything, she began to land on Radiant Garden, which had come up all too soon for him. "Now then… time to find Terra."

"... Aqua, just know that no matter what… I'll never forget what I've experienced here, and my friendship with you, Terra and Ventus." Roxas said softly to her as they landed into the world.

Aqua blinked at that, but she slowly nodded, remembering he would have to go back to his own time, possibly soon. _But he never said when… so he hopefully has a lot more time left with us. _"Right… Come on, let's go find him!"

* * *

Roxas took off the hood from his head, frowning a bit. "There's no need, he's here." he pointed at a man, standing and staring off into space in the middle of town. _I see his hair is still silver, that's not a good sign…_

Aqua smiled happily, ignoring the fact that his hair was silver, and she quickly ran up to him, hope filling her eyes. "Terra?" she asked, only to blink in confusion when he looked down at her and reached out for her. She frowned, beginning to take a step back. _What is he- urk! _The silver-haired man suddenly grabbed her neck, slowly lifting her up into the air!

"Aqua!" Roxas yelled for her as he began running at them worriedly.

"Who… are you?" the man demanded from her, frowning in confusion. "Who… am _I_?"

Roxas stopped before he said, "You're Terra, our friend, remember? Please, put Aqua down."

Aqua nodded, groaning in pain. _Such a terrible… darkness…! _"T-Terra… fight it, _please_!"

The man looked at her with slightly dull eyes, thinking what they both said over. "Terra… you say?" His eyes then widened and he suddenly grabbed his head, grunting in pain. "Gah… Ugh…!" He clutched at his face with both hands before suddenly pausing. When he spoke again, it was with a lot more confidence than before, and Aqua and Roxas frowned worriedly. "Terra's heart has been _extinguished_\- smothered by the darkness within him!" With that, he summoned Xehanort's Keyblade, slashing at the woman in front of him!

CLANG! Roxas had summoned Oathkeeper and blocked the attack from hitting his friend. "I made a promise to help her, and I intend to keep it. I promised to help her get back her friend Terra as long as I am still here and breathing, no matter what!" Roxas said as he pushed Terranort back before he jumped beside Aqua.

The Keyblade Master hesitated for only a moment before she frowned angrily, summoning her Keyblade. "My name is Master Aqua. Now return our friend's heart or _pay the price_!" Terranort laughed at that, disappearing into a pool of darkness before reappearing behind both of them and slashed at them! "Whoa!" She and Roxas dodged the attack, turning to face him once more.

"Watch it, he's fast." Roxas whispered to her as he got down into his battle stance. _He's got a lot of darkness, very powerful darkness, it almost hurts to be near him. And yet… now it's almost like I feel _Xemnas's_ 'darkness' here…_

As if to prove how fast he was, before Aqua or Roxas could react, Terranort began slashing away at them, and both Keyblade Wielders had to dodge roll or cartwheel away. "Yield!" he shouted, making a bunch of dark spheres slam into both of his opponents.

Roxas hissed as he slammed back into a wall, but he refused to yield to this man. The Nobody stood up, he couldn't see where Aqua was, but he knows she's nearby. Roxas watched Terranort, trying to analyze what he's going to do next, it would be dangerous to just charge in head on without knowing the full extent of his powers.

"_He fights like Terra and Xehanort, but he mostly fights like Terra."_ Roxas heard a familiar voice in his head say.

"...What?" Roxas shook his head, now wasn't the time to make conversation. The Nobody jumped into the sky, gliding near Terranort before he flipped, crying out, "THUNDER!" He summoned a bolt of lightning, striking at the possessed Keyblade Wielder.

The silver-haired man grunted in pain before he slid at Roxas, his whole body covered in darkness as he slammed into the Nobody, causing massive damage! "Begone!"

"Gotcha!" a familiar female voice shouted as she slashed at Terranort then used her Blizzard and Fire magic together, causing massive damage.

Roxas rolled back onto his feet. _If he fights like Terra… then he should be more brute force than magic or speed… but he's pretty dang fast._

"_Because he's using darkness to enhance his abilities."_

… _Darkness? Hmm…_ The Nobody began having an idea about a weakness. "Aqua! I think we should use light elements to fight him! Know any Shotlocks that can use light?" Roxas called out to her while dodge rolling from another attack.

Aqua blinked before nodding. "I do- it's a powerful one as well! If you're sure this will work Roxas…" She aimed her Keyblade at Terranort, locking on before she began spinning gracefully, firing off orb of light after orb of light that slammed into her opponent's chest. "Lightbloom!"

Roxas was amazed by how graceful her moves were as she fired off those light orbs, she could totally ace an advanced ballet class if she ever wanted to. Terranort grunted in pain as the light orbs cut through his darkness, making it hard for him to recover, but he knew how to use Curaga.

"Heal!" Roxas and Aqua cringed as they saw the possessed Keyblade Wielder surround himself in green light, healing his wounds.

"I guess we'll have to attack faster." Roxas said with a small frown.

"Right, we'll attack him together then." Aqua nodded, quickly dodging a slash from Terranort's Keyblade.

* * *

Aqua began spinning again, she took Roxas's hand as the two fired off light elements. Aqua was using her Shotlock Lightbloom, and Roxas was summoning the light pillars, using a weaker version of Light Rage to attack. The silver-haired Keyblade Wielder could barely move without getting blinded or seared by the light. Then Roxas and Aqua both split on opposite side of Terranort, pointing their Keyblade at him before shooting out beams of light right at his chest! They were trying to use this to release Terra's heart from Xehanort's control, but the man resisted them, jumping away.

Terranort growled angrily, summoning a dozen pillars of rocks. "Yield!" He slashed, the pillars being sent flying in the direction he slashed- right at Aqua and Roxas! Then he began firing dark orbs at them again and the darkness felt like it was trying to eat away at Aqua's skin- Roxas was fine because the coat protected him from the darkness, but it still hurts.

Roxas glared as he helped Aqua back up before Terranort decides to attack again. "Come on, get up!" Then he heard that voice in his head again, making him blink in confusion.

"_Support her with your light- it'll fight the darkness that's trying to envelop her own heart!"_

_Who are you? Why are you talking to me now?_

Roxas quickly used Reflect to protect them in a barrier just before Terranort could reach them, causing his Keyblade to bounce off the shield. Roxas then pointed Oathkeeper at Aqua's chest and quickly shot out a small light beam, healing her heart from the darkness that was trying to consume it.

Aqua gasped, feeling her heart suddenly fill with light before she gave her friend a grateful nod. "Thank you Roxas… I needed that."

Roxas nodded to her, but he was still a bit troubled by this voice that keeps talking to him now. He's heard it before in his dreams, but never with such clarity, almost like whoever it was, was right beside him.

Terranort quickly smashed the Reflect barrier to dust before Roxas could reflect on it though, and he began glowing with a dark power. "Command Style: Dark Impulse!" His Keyblade was glowing with darkness and he began slashing away at both Keyblade Wielders before a huge claw came out of the tip of his weapon! "HYAH!" He was using Sonic Shadow, a move where he teleported with darkness and reappeared right near the enemy, making them unable to react fast enough to get out of the way.

The Nobody hit the ground and flipped over a few times before he hit a wall. _Ow… that hurt…_ Roxas slowly managed to get up on his hands and knees, looking up to see Terranort right in front of him! Roxas reacted quickly as he shot up Oathkeeper to block the slash that would've possibly ended him there.

Terranort frowned before he was suddenly slashed in the back by Aqua! "GAH!" He turned and glared at her, feeling blood slowly dripping down his back. "You… you _dare_ attack me so dishonorably!?"

Aqua glared at him, clutching her Keyblade tightly. "What do you know about _honor_? I'll do _whatever_ it takes to bring my friend back. If there's anything I've learned on this journey it's that not every battle _needs_ to be fought honorably, and this is one of those battles." She looked over at Roxas, who looked back at her before grinning.

_And here I thought none of them would ever see it my way._ The Nobody chuckled to himself as he cast a quick Cura on himself.

Terranort scowled, beginning to slash as hard as he could at Roxas. "TAKE THIS!" He tried to slam his Keyblade into the Nobody's skull but Roxas blocked and used his free hand to cast Blizzard right into the possessed Keyblade Wielder's stomach! "What!?"

Roxas then proceed to attack with his Keyblade, comboing the silver-haired man before taking a stab at him. "Take that!" Then he spun his Keyblade around, causing it to combo the man once more before he jumped away.

Terranort scowled, beginning to heal himself with darkness before Roxas used Giga Impact, making the dark Keyblade Wielder grunt in immense pain. "Why you…! Why do you resist so much!?" He began dashing around the field, cloaked in darkness again. "Terra's heart has succumbed to the darkness- there is_ no_ returning it!"

"That's what_ you_ think! Even in the deepest darkest abyss, there is always a little light. I know Terra's not gone, not by a long shot- in fact, he's fighting you right now." Roxas snapped, jumping away from the man's darkness.

"Roxas is right." Aqua spoke calmly, walking beside her friend. "Terra wouldn't give up so easily, especially not to you_ or _the darkness!"

Terranort growled in irritation, gripping his Keyblade tighter. "Is that so? Well then… fight me as hard as you can- because just like you, I shall _not_ hold back!" With that, he raised his Keyblade into the air. "Come to me!" Almost as if from thin air, a huge meteor began hurtling down at the battlefield!

"_Above you!"_

Roxas and Aqua gasped as they looked up, seeing the huge meteor! They knew they couldn't dodge it before it came down on them, so the two of them nodded to each other before they lifted their Keyblades and created Reflectaga together, hoping to try and hold it off! The huge meteor hit the barrier, and to everyone's shock, it held up! The huge rock was strong however, and the barrier was already starting to crack.

Terranort sneered, seeing the two continue to try and hold off the huge hunk of space rock. "Try as much as you want- you would need a _miracle_ to destroy the meteor let alone block it with magic!"

Roxas was getting tired, his magic was getting seriously spent and drained, and he could tell the same was said for Aqua- neither of them could keep holding off this huge space rock. _This isn't good… we can't hold it off much longer!_

Aqua frowned before her eyes lit up, getting an idea. "Roxas!" She bent down, and getting the idea, the boy quickly lowered his part of the barrier and hopped onto her hands before she sent him towards the meteor with a mighty shove! Roxas began spinning as he was going at the meteor, his Oathkeeper pointing right at it. As soon as he hit it, he was struggling to pierce through it.

"Come on… come on!" Roxas shut his eyes as his body glowed white, trying with all his might and remaining magic to shove through, and eventually the meteor began cracking until the Nobody was able to pierce the rock and caused it to shatter! "Yeah!"

Terranort's eyes widened, seeing Roxas and Aqua weren't smashed by the meteor- and, in fact, the Nobody had managed to _slash through_ the space rock! "No… How are you-!?" He gritted his teeth, charging both of them angrily. "I will _not_ lose this body as you have forced me to lose the X-Blade!"

Aqua quickly used a Time stop spell with what remained of her magic. "STOP!" It froze Terranort for a few seconds as she and Roxas jumped back, they needed to recover from that last attack and a few seconds isn't going to be enough. "Roxas, if you have any ideas now, let's hear it."

Roxas panted, he and Aqua were drained of magic, and they didn't have time to restock items, so healing right now was out of the question. "Well… guess we'll have to rely on our melee attacks and Shotlocks until our magic recovers."

Aqua nodded, frowning worriedly. "Right…" She knew perfectly well that her most powerful ability was her magic, but she didn't want to worry her friend, so she charged Terranort, only for him to block and retaliate with a counter filled with darkness! "GAH!" She grunted in pain but she slashed at him again, letting Roxas slash at their friend's back while she kept Terranort distracted.

Terranort growled as he quickly began firing dark orbs at both of them, trying to keep them at a distance. Aqua didn't want to get too close to those dark orbs, they were like acid to her, so she quickly jumped back. Roxas deflected some of the orbs, but there were too many for him to get in close, and he quickly rejoined Aqua. "At this rate, he'll just keep shooting darkness at us before we can retaliate."

The blue-haired woman nodded, frowning thoughtfully. "Yeah… I suppose we'll just have to rely on Shotlocks and Command Styles then! Can you activate either of yours yet?"

"Well Light Rage is my most powerful Command Style, but to use it, I'd have to be really,_ really_ ticked off." Roxas said. Seeing his friend's surprised glance, he shrugged. "Yeah, it's a power that relies on negativity and anger, not really something I want to use very often…"

Aqua frowned thoughtfully, before she nodded to herself. "Alright… I have enough energy for another Shotlock- I'll keep him distracted while you attack him directly." She aimed her Keyblade at Terranort as she spoke, preparing her attack.

* * *

Roxas nodded and ran behind, trying to find a best way to attack. _He attacks with heavy force and he's fast- besides light, is there any weakness to this guy?_

"_He's fast, but you can be faster."_

_Okay, seriously, who are you?_ The Nobody was grateful for the advice, but it was also distracting him. _And I've been attacking as fast as I can, I'm not able to match up with a dark enhanced speed!_

"_Well, then use a D-Link- you both have those as well, something he doesn't, yet you aren't _using_ them. Aqua's fighting with you, so her D-Link's out- Terra's fighting against you, technically, so the same goes with him. The only one left is…?"_

_But Ven's gone! I can't use _his_ D-Link either!_ Roxas argued, but he quickly saw a chance to attack and used Slide Dash to kick Terranort from behind before he smashed Oathkeeper into his back and then kicked his legs to keep him from reacting too quickly- but despite this, the voice in his head kept talking to him.

"_And what makes you think that? His heart's sleeping but his power's still there- and you two are still friends so he'll automatically give you his power for a longer fight like this! You may as well try."_

_What? But he's- ugh, it doesn't make any sense!_ Roxas grumbled to himself, but regardless, he reached into his pocket to take the green Wayfinder into his hand. "Well, here's hoping I don't make an idiot of myself. VENTUS!" To everyone's shock, the Wayfinder glowed in his hand and a green light glowed on Roxas for a few seconds. "W…what the!?"

Terranort's eyes widened, seeing Roxas using Ven's D-Link. "W-what!? But that's- UGH!" He grunted in pain as Aqua recovered from her shock first and quickly used her Shotlock, twirling gracefully once more and firing orbs of light right at the possessed Keyblade Wielder.

Roxas, feeling faster, all but 'teleported' right at Terranort's face as Aqua's Shotlock continued to hit him. The Nobody used this to attack along with her Shotlock as a combination, using basic magic, something he hadn't used in a while, to cause more damage as Roxas followed Aqua's every shot perfectly! Of course, after it was over, the D-Link wore off, but it still did _massive_ damage to Terranort.

_Guess with Ven sleeping he can only loan me his powers for a short time._ Roxas thought to himself after he quickly jumped back beside Aqua.

Terranort grunted, glaring at both of them. "Not yet…!" A barrier of darkness surrounded the battlefield, boxing all three of them in as the man tossed his Keyblade to the side. "I will guide you to the _depths_ of darkness!" And with that said, he suddenly began groaning in pain, clutching his heart as darkness began pouring from it like an open wound!

"What's happening!?" Aqua shouted, looking around as the entire area was being covered in darkness.

Roxas hissed himself as he sensed the sickening darkness multiplied around them tenfold! It was to the point the Nobody was feeling sick himself just for _being _here. "I don't know… but I think Terranort's calling upon his own darkness!"

The silver-haired man grunted again, screaming in pain as a large Heartless suddenly erupted from his chest. "Heh… You'd be right. This is the Guardian…" He smirked, the Guardian following his movements to the letter before the man resummoned his Keyblade. "And he will be your undoing, along with myself!"

Roxas's eyes widened as sudden flashes of Sora's memory of that Guardian came into his head. _Ansem!?_ The Nobody shook his head, not wanting to get distracted now. _N-no… No, it can't be!_

"Roxas, can you still use two Keyblades?" Aqua asked him, unaware of Roxas's distress.

Roxas groaned a bit before looking up at her. "Yeah, I should be able to."

"Then why haven't you used it?" the blue-haired woman asked him, frowning worriedly. "We kind of need every advantage we have right now!"

"I don't know why myself, but I just feel like it's not the right time to use both of them yet." the Nobody explained as the entire area around them changed.

Before either of them could comment anymore, the Guardian suddenly disappeared into the ground, and Roxas's eyes widened. "Scatter!" he quickly shouted to Aqua, running away. _That thing could be targeting either one of us!_

Roxas and Aqua began dodge rolling and cart wheeling all over the battlefield, trying to get away from it. Thankfully, the Guardian finally came out from underground and missed both of them before returning to Terranort.

"_Roxas, we can beat him, we just have to work together!"_

_What? You're just a voice in my head, what can _you_ do?_ The Nobody was getting caught off guard by this weird voice, but now it's just sounding ridiculous.

"_You'll see- just trust me and we'll get through this battle together!"_

Roxas frowned in confusion at that but he reluctantly nodded. _Fine, I feel like I can trust you… _Then he yelped, quickly blocking a swipe of the Keyblade from Terranort- except he didn't notice that he did it in a reverse grip, similar to a certain look-alike of his.

The Nobody then kicked back from the rocks below him to jump back, not noticing that he was still holding Oathkeeper in the reversed grip that Ven used to do. "That was a close one…"

Aqua stopped when she noticed Roxas's strange grip on his Keyblade. "..." She blinked a bit, surprised. _Wha- why is Roxas holding his Keyblade like that? That grip- it looks just like Ven's!_

Terranort scowled, rushing at Roxas while his Guardian began tossing spheres of darkness straight at the boy, making him constantly dodge as he switched his grip to his preferred style once more. Roxas jumped and glided through the battlefield as he used Oathkeeper to try and use Giga Impact, but Terranort's Guardian refused to give him time to do so as it suddenly flew up at him and slashed at him with its big claws!

"Ugh!" Roxas grunted as he fell back to the ground, clutching his chest in pain. _My magic's still weak, but thankfully I have enough for another Cure if I need it. And it's a good thing I'm wearing this coat, that darkness would've hurt a lot more otherwise…_

"_In that case, you should try to save your energy so you can use more of your light."_

_Easier said than done, I have to keep moving or I'm dead._ Roxas saw Aqua using Thunder Dash as she surrounded herself with electricity before dashing at Terranort, hitting him and his Guardian a few times before it grabbed hold of her, keeping her there so Terranort could attack!

The Nobody, seeing his friend in danger, wasted no time to rush at them, his grip switching back to the reversed style as he quickly hacked and slashed at the Guardian, forcing it to let her go.

Terranort blinked as well, finally noticing Roxas was using Ven's style to fight him. _…Impossible…! Ventus… he's… am I fighting _him_!?_ The man grunted, suddenly clutching his head in pain.

Roxas grabbed Aqua's arm and hurried her a few feet away from the man and his dangerous Guardian. "Are you okay, Aqua?"

"I'm fine, thanks for saving me back there, but…" She looked at his Keyblade… Roxas switched his grip again.

"But what? What's wrong?" the Nobody asked in concern, worried she might've gotten some of the darkness in her again.

"...You don't see it?" the blue-haired Keyblade Wielder asked in confusion, glancing down at his Keyblade again. _Is… is he somehow calling on more of Ven's power again…?_

"Don't see what?" Roxas frowned in confusion before he heard Terranort groaning in agony, he and Aqua turned to see he was clutching his head as if fighting it again. "Terra?" _I wonder what triggered his memory…_

"_Just keep fighting, it'll help bring out the real Terra again!"_

Roxas nodded as his grip tightened on his Keyblade before going back to his usual stance, still confusing Aqua. "Come on, let's go Aqua!"

The Keyblade Master slowly nodded, trying to figure out what the heck was going on, before they were transported with a flash of light to a sparkly orange-filled platform! "W-wha!? Where are w- TERRA!" Her eyes widened, seeing their friend chained to what looked like a purple sphere of dark energy- most likely Xehanort's heart- while the Guardian protected them both.

Roxas frowned as he wondered what was going on, but he didn't like it. "I think we have to get to them, Aqua. Get to that heart over there, maybe we can try purifying it if we get close enough!"

"We can try, it's our best bet!" Aqua nodded, clenching her Keyblade tightly.

The two Keyblade Wielders began charging, but Guardian wasn't going to make it easy, it kept firing dark orbs at them constantly, pushing them back whenever they get hit. "This isn't working, we'll have to try and split up!" Roxas said with a frown.

Aqua nodded, and she and her friend quickly split up, both of them circling around to try and reach Terra from different sides. Eventually, she reached him, and she quickly stood within the second circle. "Terra, are you alright!?"

Terra grunted, unable to give an answer. Roxas was trying to beat back the Guardian as it kept trying to slash at him since Aqua already reached the circle. "Get out of my way!" Roxas stabbed at the Guardian, his grip going back to reverse, trying to attack faster. The Guardian finally fell back and it gave Roxas enough time to reach into the circle.

"T-Terra? Terra, are you in there?" Roxas called for him beside Aqua, still not realizing he was holding the Keyblade in reverse, but both Terra and Aqua did, making Terra think he was Ven.

"V-Ven… Aqua…!" Terra grunted, still trying to fight as hard as he could. "You both… have to get out of here! I'm-I'm trying to fight him as best as… as I can, but… it isn't easy! I-I'm making headway, but…!"

"No, you can't just give up, Terra!" Roxas said to him, shaking his head, not caring if he mistook him for Ven- maybe his memory of Roxas was already disappearing, but that was fine with him, just as long as the Nobody could help release him from Xehanort's grasp.

The brown-haired man gave a small smirk at that, shaking his head. "I… I didn't say I'd… give up, now… did I?" He then summoned his Keyblade, Ends of the Earth, glancing at both of the other Keyblade Wielders as the Guardian began to float towards him. "A bit… of help… would be nice…!"

"Don't worry, we'll help you Terra, we'll do everything we can." Aqua said as she held up her Keyblade.

"That's right, we will." Roxas said as he began bringing up his Keyblade, but when he did that was when he noticed he was holding it in reverse. _Huh? Why am I- that's weird… I shouldn't be holding it in reverse!_ The Nobody quickly switched to his normal grip, frowning at his strange way of holding it like that, before he quickly focused on the incoming Guardian.

The three Keyblade Wielders held out their Keyblades together, shining brightly in light, catching the Guardian off guard. "LIGHT!" they all cried out, causing the large Heartless to cry out in pain before in a flash of light, both Roxas and Aqua reappeared in the barrier, the Heartless in question panting painfully.

Terranort grunted, clutching his heart. "W-wha… what did you _do_!?" he demanded, glaring up at both of his opponents. _How… how is he… resisting _more_ now!? His heart should have submitted, not continued to fight!_

Roxas and Aqua glared at him, but before they could attack, Roxas noticed the blue-haired woman was looking at him in confusion. "... Um…" The Nobody had a pretty good idea what was on her mind now, seeing what she was probably asking before. "Maybe we should just focus on the battle right now."

Aqua nodded, trying not to stare as Roxas absently adjusted his grip back to reverse, before she turned to her opponents. "Do you want to take the Guardian or Terranort?" she asked, holding up her Keyblade warily at the two who were still staggering.

"Well, I think I should take the Guardian since it uses a lot of darkness- this coat I'm wearing will protect me from it, but if it hits you… well… I'm worried what it could do to you." Roxas said in concern for her safety, absently twirling his Oathkeeper.

Aqua nodded, understanding his point. "Right- I'll continue trying to bring Terra's heart out while you do that!" Understanding each other, they each charged for their respective opponents, who were just beginning to recover.

As Aqua went for Terranort, Roxas began attacking Guardian, using some of his light pillars to attack it and keep it away from Aqua, but his earlier magic depletion made it hard for him to use a lot of his light attacks, so he had to settle for just his Keyblade. Roxas noticed he was attacking a lot faster with Oathkeeper before he realized he was holding it in reverse again. _Why am I holding it this way? This is… more of Ven's style, so why am I…?_

"_Hey, I _told_ you I'd help you! The reverse grip's a lot faster for attacking."_

… _Wait… what? _You're_ doing this?!_ Roxas's eyes widened and he was so surprised that when the Guardian went after Aqua, he was too late to stop it from grabbing her tightly! "W-wha!? NO!"

Aqua hissed in pain as she quickly escaped and fell back, looking to be in agony as she was trying to fight off the darkness that was attacking her from within. Angered, the Nobody didn't hesitate to summon Oblivion this time! But, to everyone's surprise, including Roxas himself, instead of the familiar black Keyblade, it was…

"Ven's Wayward Wind?" Roxas asked aloud, confused and shocked at the Keyblade in his hand. But he shook his head, now was not the time to question it. Now with both Keyblades in his hands, he quickly ran at both Terranort and the Guardian, using them to deflect all the dark orbs aimed at him and then he began comboing them like crazy! The Guardian tried to grab hold of Roxas, but he managed to stab at its arm while still hitting Terranort at the same time.

Shrieking in pain, the Guardian flew back above the silver-haired man as he grunted in pain, clutching his shoulder before the darkness healed it. Roxas panted a bit, feeling tired himself before he hurried over to Aqua, seeing that the enemy was slowing down. "Aqua! Hang on…" Roxas pointed Oathkeeper at her chest and released the small light into it to chase away the darkness. "Are you okay?"

Aqua nodded, panting a bit more as her heart felt lighter again. "Y-yeah… Thanks again, Roxas…" She slowly stood up, and she couldn't help but stare at one of the Keyblades in her friend's hand. "R-Roxas… why do you have Wayward Wind instead of Oblivion?"

"..." Roxas held up Wayward Wind, looking at it thoughtfully. "Well… I know it sounds strange but… I think Ven is helping me fight here."

"But how? His heart is sleeping." Aqua frowned in confusion. _I don't think it would have recovered that quickly without us being there…_

The Nobody shrugged. "You know I'm from the future, right? Maybe I made contact with Ven's heart from there and it's effecting me here, just a guess."

"_It's a WRONG guess, but you're pretty close. As for what's _wrong_ about your idea… well, you'll see soon enough." _The voice sounded smug, and Roxas's hand twitched, although it was too subtle to notice.

Aqua blinked before she slowly nodded. "I… guess that makes sense…" Then she glanced over at Terranort, seeing him groaning in pain as he clutched his heart again. "Come on- we have to help Terra fight off Xehanort's possession again!"

"Here we go again." Roxas and Aqua charged as the area around them began to change, the sky and ground turning yellow and Xehanort's heart floating above Terra, while Terra himself was in chains. The Guardian was getting desperate as it fired the dark orbs much more rapidly than the first time around, making it that much harder to dodge.

Roxas, having both Keyblades in hand, managed to deflect most of those dark orbs a lot easier than when he only had one, although he noticed that he was holding both Keyblades in reverse. _This better not mess me up…_

"_Don't worry, it won't- I'll be here to help keep you from getting hit."_

A lot sooner than before, Roxas and Aqua quickly reached their friend, Terra clutching his head. He smiled at them, although it was a strained and slightly pained smile as he struggled to fight back. "H-hey… looks like… you're back again. Wanna… try round two…?"

"Yeah, we'll get Xehanort out of you." Aqua said determinedly.

"Here comes the Guardian again!" Roxas said as he raised both Keyblades along with Aqua and Terra, doing the Triple Limit, causing a bright flash of light!

Back in the real world, Terranort stumbled back as his body began to shine. "G-guh… ugh… stop… fighting _back_…!" He managed to force himself to stand up straight, but he was still shining with light as the young man's own heart resisted the possession from within.

Aqua frowned worriedly, taking a step towards him as she tried to plead with her friend. "Terra, I _know_ you're in there! Fight back- you're almost out!"

Roxas nodded, "Yes! You can do it, Terra! Just a little bit more!"

Finally beginning to run out of options, Terranort slowly forced the Keyblade of Master Xehanort up to his chest as he groaned out, "This'll teach you…!" Then he shouted, in a mix of his current voice and Terra's own, "GET OUT OF MY HEART!" before he touched the Keyblade to his chest, and it gave a flash of purple light.

Both Aqua and Roxas reacted in horror at this, they almost couldn't believe what they just saw! "Terra!" Terranort dropped the Keyblade, and it quickly disappeared in a flash of light as his eyes drooped as if asleep.

* * *

"NO!" Roxas and Aqua saw the Guardian behind the silver-haired man beginning to melt beneath him, creating a dark pool that was causing the man's body to sink into it!

Roxas quickly ran forward, trying to reach Terranort before the dark pool disappeared. "TERRA!" he cried out, rushing inside, dismissing both his Keyblades along the way.

"R-Roxas, wait!" Aqua quickly ran after him, dismissing her own Keyblade, and she jumped inside just as the dark pool began to shine with a bright light. She quickly summoned both her Keyblade Glider and her armor, hopping on and flying after her friends. "Roxas! Climb on- we're going to try and get Terra before he falls too far into darkness!"

Roxas nodded as he didn't hesitate to grab her arm and she pulled him on the back of her Glider. As soon as her Nobody friend was safe, she put the Glider into full throttle, trying to catch up to their falling friend.

The Nobody was getting rather agitated, he could sense the darkness around them growing darker and the door to the light was closing. "Faster Aqua! We're not going to make it out of here like this!"

Gritting her teeth, she shouted, "The darkness will _not_ take you, Terra!" as she forced her Keyblade Glider to go even _faster_! Finally, she and Roxas managed to grab him, beginning to fly towards the speck of light in the distance as they carried the unconscious man with them. _No… Roxas's right- we won't make it! I have to _do_ something or we'll all be lost!_

Roxas frowned, seeing how small the light has become, there was no possible way they could make it now… but the Nobody noticed Aqua suddenly detached her armor and returned her Keyblade to normal, causing all three of them to begin falling. "A-Aqua? What are you doing?"

"Forgive me, Roxas…" The blue-haired Keyblade Master forced the armor to grab Terra, and she placed her Keyblade into his hand, making the armor glow. "I'm _with_ you Terra! GO!" And faster than a rocket, the Keyblade and its armor began _speeding_ towards the door to the light, Aqua and Roxas falling deeper and deeper into darkness. "Ven…" she muttered as they fell, sounding somehow light-hearted. "I'm sorry. I might not make it back as soon as I thought… But I promise, I'll be there_ one _day to wake you up…"

"Aqua…" Roxas said softly as he reached out his gloved hand and grabbed hers. "This isn't over yet." With a flick of his hand, the Nobody summoned the Corridor of Darkness, and it transported them on a dark beach, a familiar place for Roxas, not wanting his friend to wander here alone lost- the least he could do was bring her somewhere familiar to him, but he couldn't do much otherwise, not without tampering with the timeline, because he knew that she can't leave here… not _yet_ anyway.

* * *

Aqua opened her eyes, not sure how much time passed when she suddenly blacked out. The last thing she remembered was falling into darkness that she pulled Roxas into, and she remembered the boy grabbing her hand. "...Roxas?" She slowly sat up, blinking in surprise.

Roxas was sitting beside her, staring out at the dark ocean. "Hey Aqua… I'm glad to see you're okay." _My body feels so heavy for some reason._

"..." The blue-haired girl frowned in confusion, slowly standing up. "...Where… are we? I don't recognize this place… Did you take us out of the realm of darkness somehow?"

The Nobody only shook his head, frowning softly. "No, this is just a part of the dark realm. Aqua, what you did kept Terra from falling here, but he's still not himself, are you sure that was a wise decision? We can't get out and save him now."

"..." Aqua gave a small, slightly hysterical smile, leaning back and staring into the dark sky. "I… I don't know- but I was out of options." A tear slowly dripped down her face as she continued, shaking her head softly. "I… I _wouldn't_ let him be lost to darkness again… but I couldn't bring all of us back to the realm of light safely."

Roxas sighed sadly as he picked up a seashell from the beach, holding it up to his face. "I get it, you cared so much about him you were willing to sacrifice yourself for his sake, even if it meant the end of you. You remind me of a friend of mine who did the same thing Aqua…"

The blue-haired woman frowned in confusion, looking at him. "...Who would that be?" She gave a mirthless chuckle, shrugging weakly. "I doubt I'd be able to meet them now… so I may as well learn their name…"

"Her name was Xion- she was a good friend of mine…." Roxas said sadly as he closed his hand around the seashell he was holding. "I'd do anything for her, as well as my other friend, Axel. The three of us were close, and we called ourselves best friends… but… well… things got really complicated and Xion had to end herself or… _I_ would've ended up disappearing instead."

Aqua's eyes widened, instantly realizing the connection he had made. "...Sort of like us, huh?" She sighed, hanging her head sadly. "Too bad… I was hoping that…" _That a tragedy like ours would be one in a century, at best… but instead, in eleven years…_

Roxas shrugged, leaning back to stare at the moon in the sky. "It's not your fault, Aqua. Things like this were meant to happen, I guess. Nothing we could do about it except endure. I've tried fighting against destiny and look at where it's gotten me- eleven years in the past. But… that doesn't mean I regret ever meeting you, Terra and Ven- in fact, I've never been happier to have made new friends and add them to my small circle."

* * *

Aqua looked up at him, giving a small smile before her eyes widened. "...R-Roxas… you're…!" She shakily pointed at his arm, and the Nobody followed her gaze to see it was flickering in and out of existence, glowing with a faint light.

Roxas's eyes widened in shock for a second, before he realized what it meant and he stood up. _Looks like my time here… is finally over. _"Aqua… I'm very happy to have met you all, and that I was able to come as far as I did here."

Aqua frowned, slowly standing up as well and looking the boy over in confusion. "Roxas… what's happening to you?"

The Nobody just gave her a sad smile, shrugging. "My mission here, eleven years in the past, is over. I'm going back to my original timeline, to finish what I had started." _To disappear into Sora…_

The blue-haired Keyblade Master's eyes widened before she shook her head frantically, tears beginning to drip down her face. "N-no… No, Roxas, you- you can't leave! Not yet!" She tried to grab his arms, but they faded out of her grip, and she gasped, clutching her hands tightly in shock. "I… I just lost Terra…" She looked up at him, shaking her head desperately. "Ven will be asleep for who _knows_ how long… I can't lose _you_ too, not like this!"

It really broke Roxas's heart seeing her like this, the woman he had come to respect and know as a good friend, and he gave her a hug before fading out of existence again and falling through her. "I know Aqua… and I'm sorry. I knew you just lost Ven, and that's why I didn't want to tell you… I ran into my friend back at Castle Oblivion- he was also here on a mission from the future, but he had just disappeared back to his timeline, and I knew it was going to be soon for me too, but I couldn't just tell you… not yet. It'd break your heart."

"But… but…!" Aqua clutched at him desperately, renewing the hug every time he accidentally slipped out of her grip. _But it's _still_ breaking my heart… _"Roxas… I… You're _sure_ I'll never see you again? I-I could… I could find a way out, and-"

Roxas put a finger on her lips, getting her to stop, and he gave her a smile, shaking his head slowly. "It's okay Aqua, don't worry about it. You'll end up forgetting me anyways, so you won't be sad for long. But even so… _I_ won't ever forget, even if I act like I won't remember you guys _if_ we ever see each other again. I'll remember everything we've went through. I… I had fun traveling with all three of you- it was complicated and things were very rough at first, but in the end, I was happy to have met you all and even bonded with you. I'll never forget our times together and all the lessons I had learned as well, things I could've never learned on my own. Thank you, for saving me when I needed it the most, Aqua. I just wish I could've said my goodbyes to Terra and Ven too…" By now, Roxas's body was getting harder and harder to see, as light began shining all around the Nobody's body.

Aqua slowly shook her head, tears dripping down her face faster and faster. "N-no… No, this can't- this can't be happening…!" She sniffled, holding his face tenderly between her hands. "I… I wanted to spend a little more time with you! To- to teach you more before we headed back! I-I could have- I could have taught you more about magic, about the Keyblade's past…!" Her voice cracked at the end of her sentence, but she continued, trying to speak through the tears. "I-I could have even given you a Mark of Mastery exam myself…! You could have been a real Master, Roxas!" _Please…_ Please_, don't leave me all alone!_

Aqua stopped for a moment when she felt Roxas's hand gently stroke her cheek as he wiped away some of the tears before more took their place. "Don't be sad, Aqua… I promise you that you'll be able to get out someday. Maybe you _will_ meet me again- it may not be as _me_, but you _will_ meet me again. Whether or not you remember me, you'll at least know I'm still here." Roxas then took something out of his pocket, it was Ven's Wayfinder that Lea had given to him. "This is a Wayfinder that I believe may have belonged to the Ventus from the future. Do me a favor and keep it safe until you feel the need to give it to a certain red-head pyro, okay?"

Aqua slowly nodded as the Nobody gently closed her fingers around it. "I… I will- I _promise_, Roxas, I'll keep it safe." She placed it on the ground next to the rock before suddenly hugging Roxas for a brief moment. "Roxas… I'll miss you _so_ much! You- you may have only been in my life for a month… but…" She sobbed, barely able to get the next few words out. "But I thought of you as a little brother… y-you al-always got into trouble… and when I learned, I'd be so _worried_…!" _I… I don't want to forget that… I don't want to forget _him_! _"Please, Roxas… don't go yet… _please_…" Her breath hitched on the last word as she slipped through him once more.

Roxas just helped her up and gave her another tight hug, some tears spilling from his own eyes. "I wish I could stay, Aqua, with every fiber of my _being_ I wish I could. But you know as well as I do my stay here, in the past, had always been temporary. If I don't go back, the future and present will change, and maybe not even for the better." Then he pulled away from her to give his friend one last smile. "I'll see you in the future, Aqua… one way or another…"

And with those words said, Roxas's body glowed brightly as he disappeared in her grasp, leaving nothing but his black coat behind. Aqua gripped the coat as if her life depended on it, her wide eyes staring into the air that was once her close friend as the woman's tears dripped off her chin and mixed into the ocean. "R-Roxas… Roxas…!" She fell to her knees, holding the coat to her chest as she let out an anguished, tormented scream- the scream of one who had lost everything, even their closest friends. "ROXAAAAAAAAAAAS!"

* * *

**DarkFoxKit: *was crying* …. O-oh… oh… m-my… that… that was… such a sad good-bye…**

**Key2DestNE: I-I know… *sniffles, holding a box of tissues* ...Want one?**

**DarkFoxKit: We actually… *blows into the tissue* were playing… a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon song called 'I Don't Want to Say Good-bye' while typing it too… made it that much sadder.**

**Key2DestNE: S-so if you want… well, you can read it again while listening to that music… Also, you guys can make whatever theories you want- the story's almost done, after all~**

**DarkFoxKit: It should be pretty obvious who that voice is by now. But anyways, there's still one more chapter to go as well as the epilogue, so look forward to those! Now then, on to the reviews! CatLoverx33, yes, yes they will, because it's canon that all traces of Roxas is removed.**

**Key2DestNE: I know, it's gonna be sad… *sniff* thekhfan, yeah, the feels are strong with this story. The next project… well, I'm not sure really- we do a lot of projects at once. And it sounds like I have a fanboy of my very own now… joy. *sweatdrops***

**DarkFoxKit: Antex, if you thought that last chapter had a lot of emotion and passion, then what do you think about this one? And yay, you're alive! :D I'm relieved to hear Vanitas wasn't OOC. And don't worry, memories may be fragile, but they never truly fade away.**

**Key2DestNE: Well… possibly. FlightfootKeyseeker, Roxas is kind of caught up with what's happening- besides, he doesn't want to put all sorts of pressure on Aqua, with her knowing that both Ven is still asleep and that Terra was captured by darkness.**

**DarkFoxKit: What were you hoping exactly? That Roxas tells Aqua Ven wouldn't wake up for another decade or so after she lost him and Terra? Roxas may be a Nobody, but he isn't heartless.**

**Key2DestNE: Agreed. Timpani, yipe! *ducks under the fangirl suddenly appearing again* W-we gotta hurry up, Fox! A-anyways, I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed Roxas guiding Ven to Sora. But… yeah, Roxas… is kind of going to be forgotten… sorry. *smiles sheepishly***

**DarkFoxKit: That's the way it has to be unfortunately. KPGirl! Heh, I guess a lot of people assumed that the light would take Roxas back to his time period, but his work isn't done there just yet.**

**Key2DestNE: Also glad to see you're continuing to ship Key2Kitten~ :3 Spiderfan626, yeah, it's pretty sad already I think. It'd be interesting to make another KH story… but we probably won't make it a sequel like this- we're trying to keep everything canon, after all! ithil, weeell… that's… not really true- sorry…**

**DarkFoxKit: Guest, I'm sure that would be interesting, although if we did make a sequel, I don't really want to kill Roxas off. TetraOfTheInternet, we're very flattered by your words, we really are, I mean we have grown a lot since our first fanfic.**

**Key2DestNE: Eheheh… yeah, we really have… *sheepishly rubs the back of his neck* Speculator… yeah, it's quite sad, as you can tell. I can't say anything about an epilogue… but I hope that Aqua's goodbye was sad enough for you.**

**DarkFoxKit: I think your prediction of Aqua's good-bye with Roxas being the most dramatic and sad was spot on since she had to watch him disappear after losing both of her friends. But the story's not over yet! The arc is called the Final FOUR after all!**

**Key2DestNE: Well, that's the last review I think! Now we'd better get going before the fangirls and fanboys find us again- Timpani's probably letting the others know our location as we speak!**

**DarkFoxKit: Yeah, we better skedaddle before- *suddenly hands came out of nowhere and dragged Key down* O_O**

**Key2DestNE: WAAAH! Save meeee! *is getting dragged down to the darkness***

**DarkFoxKit: …. Uuuhhhh… I'll be the last survivor! *begins to run, but hands grabbed my tail!* AAAAH! NOOOOO! LET ME GOOOOO!**

**Key2DestNE: I'M KEY2DESTNE, THIS IS DARKFOXKIT, AND WE'RE GOING TO DIE FROM ALL OF YOU! NOOOOOOOOOO!**

**DarkFoxKit: AFTER WE ESCAPE WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU!**


	26. Chapter 25: The Final Four- Roxas

**DarkFoxKit: *was on a boat* Sooooo…. you remember that saying 'cry me a river'? Looks like all our fans took that literally.**

**Key2DestNE: Especially with how sad everyone was about the chapter… *sweatdrops* We might have to cover some up here too!**

**DarkFoxKit: Well… in this chapter, everything comes back to a full circle for Roxas. This is the ending for Roxas's Story- after this, it's the epilogue and this story will be finished.**

**Key2DestNE: YOU JUST OPENED THE FLOODGATES AGA- *BOOM!* *A couple dozen more reviews flooded out of the computer, swamping the boat* AH! Bail, bail!**

**DarkFoxKit: I-I think next time we should d-do a less emotional story! WAAAAH! TIDAL WAAAAAAVE! *Water covers the camera***

* * *

**Chapter 26: The Final Four- Roxas**

_It felt like I've been dreaming for a long time… Sometimes they say a far-off dream is like a scattered memory, and a scattered memory is like a far-off dream. It's only too bad that the memories are scattered with those I have come in contact with when I woke up back here in the basement of the old mansion again…_

Roxas slowly stood up from where he was laying, the same spot where he had fallen into that hole that lead him into the past. The Nobody looked around, not sure how much time had passed here. There wasn't any alarm systems or anyone going crazy trying to look for him, so Roxas can safely assume not much, if any, time had passed here at all.

The blond-haired boy frowned, feeling a tear slowly drip down his face before he wiped it away. _I miss them already… but I guess I won't be feeling _anything_, soon…_ He stood up straight, feeling the tug guiding him towards the other room. Roxas walked through the door, feeling the tug growing stronger and stronger before he paused, glancing to his left and seeing two familiar figures. _Donald… Goofy… you're both here too… asleep, huh?_

"Donald… Goofy…" Roxas couldn't help but say out loud, looking at them. The only time he ever truly came into contact with them was 11 years in the past, and even then it was brief, but still… he felt kind of happy to see them again. The Nobody heard a shutter door opening at the end of the hallway, and he took a deep breath, knowing what it's going to mean for him as soon as he step into that door. _Here goes…_

* * *

Roxas turned and slowly walked into a big white room, there was a larger pod in the center of it and a man in red in front of it. The Nobody had seen this man when Axel tried to bring him back during his Struggle Tournament in the virtual Twilight Town. The man in red gave a smirk when he saw Roxas, placing his arms behind his back. "At last, the Keyblade's chosen one."

Roxas glared at him, he couldn't help but get a memory of Xehanort saying that to him- this guy almost _looked_ like him, too, even if the voice is different. "Who are you talking to? Me or Sora?"

"To half of _Sora_, of course. _You_ reside in darkness." Roxas gritted his teeth at that, remembering how Vanitas had acted. _What does _he_ know about darkness?_ "What I need is somebody who can move about the realm of _light_, and _destroy_ Organization XIII."

"Why? Who are you?" Roxas demanded, getting rather irritated at this man. _He's just like everyone else, always saying how light is good and darkness is evil. Vanitas would have a field day with him._

The man in red gave a small smirk, shrugging. "I am a servant of the world." Then he laughed, looking the Nobody over. "And if _I'm_ a servant, then _you_ should consider yourself a _tool_, at best."

This hit Roxas hard, remembering how Xehanort had called Ventus and Vanitas nothing but a tool for the X-Blade, and it really burned him up. "Was that… was that supposed to be a _joke_? 'Cause I'm NOT LAUGHING!" Roxas shouted as he summoned the Kingdom Key and charged at the man, wanting to give him a piece of his mind, but as soon as he tried to slash through him, Roxas only went right through the man as if he was a ghost! "W-wha…?"

Shocked, Roxas turned around as the man explained. "My apologies- this is only a data-based _projection_."

Of _course_ the man wouldn't be stupid enough to face an angry Nobody face-to-face, especially one who had defeated Riku in hand-to-hand combat. But this only served to anger Roxas even further, this man had not only insulted him and, unintentionally, his new and best friends, he also brought him here so he could disappear into Sora just so he could have his own petty revenge. Roxas let out an angry scream before he began slashing and bashing the Keyblade against the projection, not caring that he's not hitting anything- he just wanted to hit the man so bad that it hurts!

Eventually, Roxas had to stop as he was getting tired, and the projection disappeared. Panting, Roxas gripped his Keyblade tightly as he heard the man again. "Come, over here." Turning around and standing up, Roxas saw the projection got closer to the pod, acting as if Roxas _hadn't_ tried to kill him.

Roxas glared, slashing his Keyblade through the air as he growled out, "I hate you _so_ much!" _Not _only_ do you _dare_ insult me like that, you also insult Ven and Vanitas! I'll never forgive you… Even if you plan to bring Sora back, why can't it be _me_ instead!? _I've_ traveled the realm of light! Why _him_!? What makes HIM so special?_

Not knowing of the Nobody's furious thoughts, the man nodded. "You should _share_ some of that hatred with Sora. He's _far_ too nice for his own good!"

Even though Roxas had told Aqua he had to leave so he could finish what he started, somewhere deep down inside, he still didn't want to disappear. Roxas, more than anything, wished to be his own person, make real friends, but it seems this man is just going to laugh in his face about it. Roxas had just realized he had a real heart all along- one that was _given_ to him by a now good friend of his- and he didn't want to give it up, not yet… "No! My heart belongs to _me_!"

Roxas ran at the man again, despite knowing it was only a projection, and slashed at it just as it disappeared. Roxas saw the pod in front of him was slowly beginning to open up, revealing his original other half, who was floating and still sleeping peacefully, unaware of the tragedy about to take place right in front of him.

"Sora…" Roxas shook his head sadly as he laid eyes on his original's face, for the first time he had finally gotten to see the real Sora instead of just in his dreams, or in the past when he was a child. _Why did it have to be this way? Everything I've done… was it all for nothing? Meeting Axel, meeting Xion, leaving the Organization myself… Why would Ven choose _Sora_ to be his shelter when his heart shattered? I know I lead him to Sora before, but it was always meant to happen, I'm literal proof of that. Why Sora? Why must everything be connected to _Sora_?_

Shaking his head a second time, Roxas slowly stood up and walked a little closer. _Still… I guess I can't really blame him. The guy didn't ask for any of this, and neither did I. This had always been… what was meant to happen. If only I was his _brother_ instead of his Nobody, things could've been different._ "You're lucky… Looks like my summer vacation is…" Roxas felt his body slowly disappearing, knowing it was time to rejoin Sora. "..._over_…" As soon as he said that word, Roxas disappeared in a bright light, returning to where he came from and leaving the brown-haired boy all alone once more.

_I guess… now that I'm here… I might as well wake the lazy guy up. I turned around, seeing nothing but darkness for a minute or two and called out his name. _"...Sora?"_ And suddenly, everything went white and I found myself falling._

* * *

… _Where am I now? Am I just doomed to float in Sora's darkness forever now? I thought I'd fuse with him, and yet… I'm still here somehow- why?_

"_Roxas… you've trapped yourself… in the isolation… of Sora's heart… That is not where… you were meant… to go."_

_That voice… it sounded like the one I kept hearing before in my journey in the past. I had actually forgotten about it due to everything that had happened during my journey eleven years ago. I couldn't help but just give a bitter smile._

_If I wasn't meant to be _here_, then why _am_ I?_

"_Because… you're being… stubborn. You may have… rejoined with Sora… but you haven't _accepted _him… you still have doubts. Until you accept your original self… you'll be trapped here… possibly _forever_ if you haven't changed in eleven years."_

_I guess I still wanted to be my own person… Oh… that reminds me- why _did_ you send me back eleven years in the past? You never explained it… I'm sure all that's happened would've happened whether or not I was there in the first place, so… why?_

"_For… two reasons. First… the past is… a fickle thing- you can never be sure… if something will happen… without somebody being there or not. You may not know it… but you were… always _meant_ to be there… eleven years in the past. The only reason… I thought… it differently before… was because of… the whole memory… of you being erased… _happened_. So… I remembered… it differently, that is… until I saw you… again, Roxas… in this timeline. Now I _know_… why so many things… were lined up that way… before."_

… _So you're saying that none of it connected to you before until you finally remembered me? I don't get it… how could you remember me? All trace of my existence should've been wiped out when I returned here._

"_Heh… it was. The only difference was… I saw you, ten years later… When I did… everything came flooding back… The memories… the times we've shared… I always thought… something was missing before, and it was… _you_ weren't there."_

…_What does it matter if you remembered me or not? I'm only a Nobody, and now I'm destined to just rot here forever, in the darkness of Sora's heart._

"_Maybe… maybe not… but the second reason I sent you… to the past? You… needed encouragement. You were feeling sad… alone… upset that you were sent to a fate you didn't want. So… I wanted you to see… other souls- ones who had… experienced the same purpose."_

_You know, it's funny… all this time, I've been talking to you, and you even helped me during that final battle with Terranort… and yet, I still don't even know who you are._

"_Heh… You and I know each other well, Roxas… even if you can't figure it out. We have a connection… one that will last throughout time… and eventually… bring us together again. But tell you what- … if you… can find your way… into the light… of Sora's heart… then you will know… who I am."_

_That's not fair, I can't even move. I guess… I'll just have to go to sleep until I'm ever needed again. I just hope that Ven's heart is okay and still recovering from what happened eleven years ago…_

_I blinked as the voice chuckled. "He's recovered just fine… and you will see him again… when you enter the light… of Sora's heart." How did he know? … Whatever… it doesn't matter, I'm here and Sora's awake, that's all that matters I guess. I just closed my eyes and entered oblivion…_

* * *

_Months later… I had experienced everything Sora went through on this journey, though only on a subconscious level, I couldn't really react or anything, it's like watching from someone else's eyes without any will of your own, many would find that scary, but it's my only pastime here otherwise. I had heard the Organization XIII's members trying to get me to react by calling out my name. I felt bad for Demyx though, he just wanted to be his own person and he was forced to battle with Sora to his death._

_I was happy that I could see Axel as Axel again, it seems he was missing me. I did feel guilty for making him miss me so much, in fact he even kidnapped Kairi just to get Sora to turn back into a Heartless so I could exist again. I wish I could talk to him, but I still couldn't move or speak._

_It wasn't until Axel used his Limit Break while at full power and kamikazed himself did it really affected me. Why would he do that!? Yes, I remember Lea telling me how it happened, but hearing about it and _seeing_ it for myself… it just shocked me. When I heard Axel tell Sora that he just wanted to see me again, I just… it just… hurts so much. If only I could've talked to him, if only we could've left on a better note than our last fight…_

_No… I won't stand for this anymore! I've lost _everything_, I had to give up _everything_ for the sake of Sora! And now even Axel is gone too! Not anymore, I WILL have my answers and I WILL have my life back! I managed to grab control of myself, and I slowly stood up. No more lying here and floating in the dark abyss, I'm taking the fight straight to Sora! I put on my black coat and used the hood to shield my face as I opened a Dark Corridor. Unfortunately, only Sora can see me in this state, but that's all I need._

* * *

Sora heard Donald yell for him, and he quickly turned to see a couple of Samurai Nobodies blocking them from going any further. "Donald! Goofy!" Sora was about to run at them, but he suddenly felt dizzy and a little disorientated as reality warped around him for a moment.

Suddenly, a Corridor of Darkness opened a few feet away from him, and one of the members of Organization XIII came walking out. Sora noted that he looked a lot shorter than the other members, but what surprised him was the Oblivion Keyblade that appeared in the figure's hand. "A Keyblade!?" _Since when did the Organization have one!?_

The figure didn't speak, he just held onto Oblivion with both hands and charged the brown-haired boy! Sora yelped, quickly blocking the attack with the Keyblade he had just gotten from Axel's fading body, Bond of Flames. Sora gritted his teeth, trying to see just who was under the cloak, before suddenly, the surroundings _changed_! "W-wha!?" Sora glanced around, seeing a familiar platform underneath him- his Dive to the Heart. _Why the heck am I _here_!? And- does he have _two_ Keyblades now!?_

Indeed, the black cloaked figure was now holding another Keyblade in his hands; the Oathkeeper. Sora couldn't believe what he was seeing! The only time he ever saw someone use two Keyblades at once was himself when he's using Valor or Master form, and even then he can't use it _all_ the time! The figure suddenly crossed both his Keyblades together and he made a dangerously fast 360 with both Keyblades! "TAKE THAT!" Sora only had time to jump to avoid a direct hit, but he still got slashed by the tips!

_This guy attacks _fast_!_ Sora gritted his teeth, but he did a Reversal and got behind the cloaked figure before slashing at his back, doing a powerful combo before forming four orbs of light around him, slamming into the Organization member, _hard_. "It's over!"

The figure grunted, before he suddenly spun around in the air, slamming both Keyblades into a Reflectaga that his opponent quickly formed. The brown-haired boy gritted his teeth before he began to run, trying to create a bit of distance between both of them.

_What makes you so special, Sora? Show me the answer!_ Roxas thought to himself angrily as he knew the boy was trying to create a distance between them so he had a moment to breathe. The Nobody, no longer caring about being cautious, decided to go all out on him, using the beams of light to attack mercilessly. The boy couldn't get far without getting hit by those pillars of lights.

Roxas then slid across the platform in a blur and Sora didn't have time to react before Roxas gave him a combo attack with both his Keyblades, using his anger and hatred to attack even more than he ever did before. Sora groaned in pain as he managed to glide away from Roxas and quickly cast Curaga on himself.

Sora then blocked another combo from the figure as the boy approached, and using this moment, he slashed at his opponent while his two Keyblades were down, performing the same combo as he had before. "This is it!" He formed the four orbs of light, and sent the cloaked boy flying away before he Dodge Rolled out of the way of another spin attack, trying to create distance again.

Roxas glared angrily, his grip on his two Keyblades tightening. _Oh, you think you can just run away!? Well, think again! _He covered himself with light, quickly gliding around the platform before performing a reversal behind his original self and landed a powerful combo! Sora was sent flying into the air, but he recovered in mid-air, blocking Roxas's final attack. "What!?" _How did he _block_ that!?_

Sora managed to push the cloaked figure back before landing on his feet and a few feet away, giving him some time to breathe. _Just who _is_ this guy? He fights so much like me, and yet a lot more aggressively. All I know is… he's the strongest opponent I've fought so far, and that's really saying something. I can barely keep up with him!_ He performed his own combo while the cloaked boy was still shocked, finally jumping into the air and firing four pillars of light into the ground! "Back off!" The pillars slammed into the figure, sending him flying into the air and allowing Sora to perform another aerial combo on the cloaked opponent before he began falling back down.

The cloaked Nobody slashed down at the brown-haired boy and landed on his feet, he was putting all his magic into his light pillars, not to mention most of it went with Sora, so using things like Fire or Blizzard or even Cure was out of the option right now. Roxas can only use what was originally his to begin with, such as the light pillars, but it seems Sora had stolen something else from him… his Shotlock, something Sora can only use when in his Limit Form. _I can't believe you… You take _everything_ from me, including the Shotlock Aqua helped me make stronger just to use it _yourself_!?_

Sora quickly leapt into the air, trying to dodge another attack from his opponent, but it quickly backfired as the cloaked figure slammed both Keyblades into Sora's torso while he was still in the air, sending him flying back to the other side of the platform! Sora groaned, quickly casting Curaga a third time to heal the wounds all over his body. _I've never had to use Curaga so much before, not even against Sephiroth!_

Roxas then slid across the platform again, trying to attack Sora directly, but Sora managed to retaliate. Both of them, in almost slow motion, were trying to hit each other with their Keyblades, however, Sora managed to get the first hit! "UGH!" It sent the Nobody into the air, his Keyblades falling out of his hands before something prompted the brown-haired boy to let out his hand and called, "LIGHT!" and the two Keyblades that Roxas was using and dropped shined brightly as they circled around Sora!

This angered Roxas even more, seeing his original stole more than just his Shotlock! _He even stole my _Keyblades_!_ His anger fueling his energy, Roxas began spamming those light pillars more and more, the light pillars scattered and flowed together, they moved around everywhere, wide and narrow- it was _impossible_ to dodge them!

Sora almost couldn't believe how fast and powerful the figure was attacking, but he does have a slight advantage, having the two Keyblade working for him now. Sora managed to get in close to the cloaked Nobody and began his aerial combos since the cloaked figure was floating, and when he did, Oblivion and Oathkeeper were both attacking the Nobody as well. However, despite being comboed, the cloaked figure didn't stop firing the light pillars at him, showing absolutely no mercy even while being attacked. _Why isn't he actually _flinching_!? All the other Organization members flinched for a _moment_ when attacked- why not this guy!?_

Finally, though, the cloaked figure grabbed both Keyblades and dashed forwards faster than the eye can see, about to slam them into Sora's head. "Gotcha!" The brown-haired boy's eyes widened, but he quickly performed a Reversal, _barely_ dodging the attack made by his opponent that may have taken off his head!

Sora panted, knowing he can't hold back or he'd be done for. _This guy is obviously strong and well trained, I don't think I can beat him without my Drive Forms. Too bad Donald and Goofy aren't with me, I could really use their help. The only Drive Form I have right now is my Limit Form, and it isn't fully charged yet!_

Both boys quickly jumped back, and Roxas panted, feeling bruises forming on his arms and legs. However, he smirked, feeling a familiar connection forming again. _At least he couldn't take _this_… _"Ready!?" Thirteen pillars of light, all with the Nobody symbols on them, appeared around him, and the Nobody jumped into the air, muttering the next words. "Command Style: Light Rage!"

Sora gasped when the Nobody suddenly shot off some lights into the blackness around them, transforming it into a twilight sky covered in dark clouds, and suddenly, the cloaked boy began firing light orbs at him! Sora knew it was gonna hurt if he stuck around, so he did the most logical thing he could do; jump and glide away as fast as he can around the platform! _What the heck!? I've never seen any Nobodies using light like THIS before! _Sora managed to dodge most of it, however, some of the orbs managed to catch up with him and slammed him into the invisible wall around the platform, causing a lot of damage before the cloaked boy finally stopped.

Roxas smirked, seeing Sora groaning at the searing light that had hit him dead on. _That's right- feel the same pain _I_ felt, all because of _you_! _He charged Sora, summoning some more light pillars and sending them flying at the boy. "Take that!" Unfortunately, Sora used Reflectaga again, barely blocking the light pillars before Roxas slammed his Keyblades into the boy's side, sending him flying! "Come on!"

Sora tried to use magic to attack, and he quickly jumped back, crying out, "THUNDER!" He summoned a lightning bolt to strike at the Nobody, who dodged it as he used Reversal around the lightning and then slid at the brown-haired boy again before throwing Oathkeeper and Oblivion like spinning frisbees, causing Sora to be knocked back a few feet. _Okay, so using magic on this guy isn't going to work so well…_

Roxas knew Sora's every move, his every magic, his every ability, his every strategy, what makes Roxas such a dangerous opponent to Sora was because he _knew_ Sora's strength and weaknesses while Sora knew _nothing _about his own. _Hmph, for someone who is supposedly me, he sure knows nothing about_ himself_!_ The Nobody thought bitterly to himself as he continued to attack Sora. Now using the pillars of light even more to his advantage, he spun around along with four of the light pillars surrounding him to help his attack with range, making it even harder for Sora to dodge it.

Sora grunted, feeling himself get beat up more and more while his opponent barely looked tired! _I-I can't believe it… I know the Organization is _strong_, but this boy… he's as young as me, yet he's kicking my butt! _Finally, though, he smiled, feeling himself fully charged. _Well… it seems like hopefully this'll turn that around!_ "LIGHT!" Sora's clothing suddenly transformed into a slightly redesigned version of his original style, apparently shocking his opponent.

"What!?" Roxas growled, he had known about Sora's Drive Forms, but he was hoping to finish this before the boy could use it. Sora's Keyblade glowed a bright orange as he began attacking the Nobody in a frenzy, making it hard for Roxas to retaliate, but that didn't stop him from summoning more light pillars to try and attack Sora.

Sora got slammed by one of the light pillars, but he quickly slammed the Organization member into the air, noticing a glowing barrier around his Keyblade for a moment before he pointed it at the boy. "Take _this_!" He fired off his Shotlock, firing well over two dozen balls of light at the cloaked figure and sending him flying back! _I don't know where that came from, but that was _awesome_!_

When the Nobody was hit by the Giga Impact, Roxas felt even angrier, which he thought was impossible, but just having his own Shotlock used against him like that, and by his own original self too, was just pushing the line! Roxas, although hurt from the attack, only attacked even faster and harder than before, shocking Sora as he thought that the Nobody would slow down after being hit several times already, instead he seems to be getting stronger as the battle dragged on.

By now, Sora's Limit Form wore off, and this allowed the Nobody to attack hastily. Sora barely managed to guard against one of his attacks, but it didn't stop the incoming pillars of light that came along with him. It was clear that the cloaked figure was giving it his all, but it scared Sora how much faster he was getting the longer the battle went on. Still, the boy refused to give up as he activated Trinity to attack faster. Sora managed to do some damage on the cloaked boy, who was hissing and grunting in pain, but then the Nobody pushed Sora off him.

"Why don't you _quit_!?" Roxas snapped angrily at his original self as the thirteen pillars of light began surrounding him again, the Nobody symbols flashing on the tip, and he jumped up high as he transformed the darkness around them into the twilight sky with the dark clouds once more. "Command Style: Light Rage!" Sora's eyes widened, surprised that the Nobody could use it again so soon!

The boy quickly began flying around the platform once more, this time _barely_ going fast enough to dodge all the orbs of light before he pulled out a Hi-Potion and drank it, still dodging the orbs as fast as he could. "There!" _How can this guy use that attack _twice_ in what feels like two _minutes_!? I- YIPE! _He barely dodged as the cloaked figure charged him, the former attack ending, but that didn't stop the pillars of light from staying around him as he tried to attack with a tackle. Thankfully, Sora dodged, but he knew his magic was quickly depleting, so he downed an Ether, restoring his energy levels. "Okay!"

Now Sora was trying to strike back again, trying to use his fastest combo attacks. Roxas grunted, but his anger kept him from weakening. Roxas jumped higher before he summoned four pillars of light to move at Sora just before he flipped like a human chainsaw and smashed his two Keyblades right into Sora's face!

Sora grunted in pain, but he quickly rolled with the attack, firing off a Firaga and lighting the area around him up with flames with the Nobody in front of him included! He tried to cast off a Thunder as well, but before he could, his opponent tackled him, both Keyblades ahead of him and slamming Sora into the invisible wall! "URK!" _Why is this guy being so reckless!? I KNOW he's being hurt a lot! It's like he doesn't even care for his own well being!_

Sora activated Trinity again, knowing he'll need to use it to keep up with the guy. Roxas smirked, seeing his original self getting desperate enough to use Trinity more than once in the same battle. Sora almost about teleported at Roxas, but Roxas was ready for him this time. Roxas began to Reversal around Sora, who also tried to following him, using Reversal too- both of them were literally fighting in the air, zipping in circles trying to dodge each other's attacks, until finally, Sora managed to take a stab at Roxas, who managed to hit Sora with Oblivion at the same time!

"_Ready!?"_ The figure's voice sounded like he was about to murder him, that's what Sora found so creepy too, what's this guy's problem? They charged at each other once more, almost like in slow motion, but again, Sora was able to hit him back and flung him into the blackness sky. "LET'S GO!" Sora managed to take Oathkeeper and Oblivion again.

Roxas couldn't believe this- not once, but _twice_ now, his original stole his Keyblades and is using them against him!_ Why you…! How DARE you steal those Keyblades! Xion gave those to me, and I will NOT let you insult our friendship by letting YOU use them AGAIN!_ He growled, beginning to spam the light pillars as fast as he could. It was even faster and more desperate than last time, and Sora couldn't even get in close to hit Roxas more than a few times.

Sora hissed in pain, and he tried to hit the Nobody again, but the guy was attacking far more aggressively and faster than the last time. The boy only managed to get in a few hits, along with Oblivion and Oathkeeper, before he got comboed by the attacking light pillars that all but ambushed him! And it didn't take long until the figure managed to get behind him and take back the Keyblades, which Sora barely managed to dodge another striking blow to the head by a quick Reversal.

Roxas had just about enough of him and he slide at Sora again, who dodged once more. He's sure that the boy was gonna use that Limit Form again if he didn't take him out soon, and the last thing Roxas wanted to see was Sora using _his_ Shotlocks again. Gripping his Keyblades tightly, his memory of his life in the Organization as well as his journey eleven years in the past flashed across his head, and more than anything, he wanted to go back and relive them again- even if it wasn't the happiest way to live, he rather go through them again then be stuck here with this goodie-goodie moron! "I want my LIFE _back_!" As soon as he shouted that, the thirteen pillars surrounded him once more. "Command Style: Light Rage!"

_A _third_ time!? Just how much power does this guy have!?_ Sora was tired, it was hard for him to dodge those attacks, and he couldn't dodge them all in the end, he got hit several times. The boy managed to down a Hi-Potion, but that barely helped him stand up. Sora knew he had to end this quick, his magic was running low and his items were starting to run out, and this cloaked figure didn't even look tired!

Of course, Roxas WAS tired, but he was so angry that he completely ignored that he was at his limit. The Nobody wanted to hurt Sora, he wanted to teach him a lesson, wanted Sora to disappear so he could exist again! _He took EVERYTHING from me! Why would Ventus choose HIM!? WHY!?_ Roxas charged at Sora with another tackle and the light pillars following behind him.

Sora yelped, barely dodging the attack, but he sighed in relief feeling his Drive gauge finally filled up again. _Finally, that _took_ long enough_! He held up his Keyblade before the cloaked figure could attack him again, and his clothes glowed white. "LIGHT!" _Time for me to try and wear this guy down again!_

Roxas hissed angrily, not liking that Sora got another chance at using his Limit Form. The Nobody himself felt his body slowing down but he forced it to keep going. Roxas performed Reversal after Reversal, trying to dodge Sora's attacks, of course, he couldn't dodge everything as Sora's Keyblade glowed orange and was attacking faster than two Keyblades combined! Then Roxas's eyes widened when he saw Sora powering up another Giga Impact at him. _No… No!_

Sora pointed his Keyblade at the cloaked Nobody, firing off the Shotlock again. "This is it!" He fired off dozens of the light orbs a second time, and they all slammed his opponent into the invisible barrier surrounding the platform, making Sora cheer happily. "YES!" He tried to attack the cloaked figure again, but his Limit Form faded away just as the Nobody slashed at Sora, sending him flying back! _…Ow…_

The Nobody slashed and comboed Sora, wanting some form of revenge after seeing his original not only _steal_ but _used_ his Shotlock_ twice_ against him! Roxas didn't even realize how tired his body was as he forced it to go faster, slashing Sora into the wall before summoning the pillars of light to attack him mercilessly. Sora managed to stand up once more and managed to slash at Roxas, whose eyes widened under the hood as he felt the last bit of power from his light fading. "Uuugh…" _No… No, I have to make him _pay_!_

Sora jumped back a few feet, seeing the cloaked figure had stopped and leaned down for a minute. _Is it over?_

* * *

Roxas couldn't use any of his light attacks anymore, including his Light Rage, all he could do now was attack with his two Keyblades. Growling from under his hood, he began charging at Sora again, who gasped for a second before charging at Roxas too. Both of them parried their Keyblades with a CLANG! "Who… who are you!?" Sora finally demanded, probably wanting to know just who this guy was and how he was so powerful.

"Someone from the dark." the cloaked figure whispered lowly as they jumped back away from each other again. _It's been too long since I said that… How ironic that I said it eleven years ago yet it only feels like a year to me…_

The figure slumped down as Sora's eyes widened, thinking about what he said. "You… you can't be… Riku!?" He held out a hand, almost as if trying to take off the hood. _He… why is he _attacking_ me then!? I don't understand!_

Roxas could've just laughed at that, but instead he shrugged calmly. "Riku? I _defeated_ a Riku once." _Riku wasn't so bad, it's only when he caught me off guard with Guardian did he take me down. Which reminds me… does Riku have any connection with Terra at all? Aqua _did_ mention that he got the Ceremonial Inheritance from Terra, or at least, it's a possibility… And he _does_ fight a lot like him…_

"You WHAT!?" Sora snapped, angry that someone could just take down Riku like that, and now he was worried for his silver haired friend, especially seeing how merciless this boy fought. _Riku…_ _Is he okay? I hope he is- if this guy beat him…!_

Roxas didn't care about Sora's concern, he still wanted to know why did Ven chose him to shelter his heart, not to mention why DiZ chose him instead of the Nobody himself, and why even _Xion_ chose Sora instead of Roxas. Getting back to his fighting stance, he said, "Tell me… tell me why he picked _you_." He charged Sora again- although at a much slower pace this time, letting both Keyblades drag across the ground before he slashed at Sora with Oblivion. The brown-haired boy dodged that slash, and blocked the next double-slash from Roxas's two Keyblades.

Sora gritted his teeth at the strain of holding both Keyblades back before the cloaked figure shoved two of the Keyblades into the air- Oathkeeper and his Bond of Flames! Before the cloaked figure could use Oblivion to attack him, though, Sora forced both Keyblades back down, keeping Oathkeeper pinned under it. But the cloaked figure pulled Oathkeeper back and jumped over him before attacking him again. Sora responded by jumping, avoiding the attack, but as he tried to hit the figure back with his own Keyblade, the other boy hit against it with Oblivion, causing Sora to be pushed into the air.

Roxas looked up, seeing Sora up high, and he didn't waste any time jumping at him, ready to deliver a fatal blow. Sora, however, wasn't going to give up so easily, and he managed to turn around by flipping himself upside-down before barely blocking both Keyblades. He landed on the platform on his feet, and he panted as he looked up at Roxas, who was still in the air. Roxas himself was looking at the platform, the picture of Sora and those he had the closest connection with, his friends. It was then the Nobody realized why Ven chose Sora… Sora was the kind of person who would help anyone, no matter who they were- just like the blond-haired look-alike of Roxas. "I see… that's why." However, the battle wasn't over yet.

Roxas landed back on the ground, beginning to twirl around and slam a combo into Sora's body- however, the boy kept dodging. Finally, feeling himself backed up to the invisible barrier behind him, Sora was forced to block a strike from Oathkeeper. Roxas didn't let up though as he continuously slammed his Keyblades onto the Bond of Flames. Finally, he saw a chance and took it, slamming the Keyblade out of Sora's hands!

Sora's eyes widened and the brown-haired Keyblade Wielder quickly raced towards his Keyblade, trying to grab it. _Come on, come on…! I've almost-_ Just before he could grab the Keyblade though, Oathkeeper slammed down, pinning the guard to the ground! _No!_ He turned, glaring up at his opponent, who pointed Oblivion right at his face! _Grr… I have to get my Keyblade somehow- otherwise I don't stand a chance!_ Clenching his fist, Sora thought of one way to get the Keyblade back. Reaching out his hand, calling for it, the Bonds of Flame disappeared in a flash. The figure noticed this and reacted in shock, "What!?" and it appeared in Sora's hand, who didn't hesitate to slash down on the cloak figure!

Roxas froze for a minute, the full extent of his injuries and exhaustion finally taking their tolls on him. The Nobody dropped both Oblivion and Oathkeeper and they disappeared, and he walked forward a bit before stumbling to the floor as the hood fell off, revealing his face to his original. For a split second, the entire place rippled around the Nobody.

* * *

…_I… I lost to Sora… heh… I guess maybe it was meant to be after all. Hmmm… something's… off. I feel like I'm… sitting on something, yet sleeping at the same time. That's weird… I slowly lifted my head to see what was going on, maybe I blacked out and Sora sat me down?_

_As I opened my eyes and was blinded by some bright sunlight, I heard a familiar voice beside me, and I couldn't help but gasp in shock. "...You've finally woken up, huh Roxas?"_

"_Huh?" I quickly looked up, was that…? It is! It was Axel… but… wasn't he… didn't he fade away? He was standing beside me, giving me that smirk. Wait… "Lea?"_

"_Huh?" The redhead paused, giving me a confused look. "...No, it's Axel, Roxas- sheesh, I don't know how you got my original name but you should get my new one memorized!" Then he chuckled, glancing away. "Then again… I guess it makes sense- you might be falling asleep instead… Soon I might not be able to talk to your consciousness like this."_

"_...Wait… this is a dream?" I frowned, looking around, no wonder it feels surreal. "How are you talking to me like this?"_

_Axel shrugged, sitting down next to me. "I'm not sure, to be honest… I guess it was my last wish- to be able to talk to you again." He chuckled a bit, nudging me weakly. "It's kind of funny, isn't it? My last wish before disappearing… was to talk to someone who had _already_ taken this path before me."_

"_Oh… so you're… still fading away? Axel… I didn't want this to happen to you… but you had already told me it would. I just… I wish it didn't have to happen." I said, looking away sadly before he gave a playful shove on my shoulder, I'm not even sure if he knew what I was talking about._

"_Hey, cheer up Roxas. Don't feel so down- at least we got to speak one more time!" Then he hesitated, giving me a small frown. "...Looks like you're going back to how you were, too. Namine said the same thing, you know… so I guess I've been thinking about it a lot."_

"_Yeah, I guess you'll be going back too soon." I said, shrugging. "Might as well get used to your new name now."_

"_... Roxas… Are you sure you don't have a heart?" Axel suddenly asked me and I looked over at him._

"_Huh? Where did that come from?" I looked at him, frowning a bit._

_Axel shrugged, looking back out at the sunset… that's right, this dream is taking place on the clock tower in Twilight Town… "It's just something I've been thinking about… You have a heart, while Namine and I… We don't really _have_ hearts, do we? We're just following what we think is the right emotion… but you actually _feel _things, don't you?"_

_I looked back at the sunset myself, thinking about it. It's true that I do have a heart, Ven's heart to be more precise… but could I say that it's the same thing as having my own? I think I remember hearing someone said it was possible for Nobodies to grow hearts of their own, but I don't know if that's true or not. "I… I don't know… I can't just look inside. But I wonder… if something is really there, wouldn't we at least know it?"_

_The redhead I've known for almost a year, maybe more if you consider my time traveling adventure, chuckled at that, shrugging. "Well… I don't know, to be honest. I didn't feel that different after becoming a Nobody… but maybe that's just me. Still… just what're you getting at, Roxas?"_

"_I don't think it's entirely impossible for you or Namine or any of the Nobodies to stay a shell husk forever. Who knows… maybe you will get a heart one day, Axel. But if anyone could answer that, it'd…" I paused, not sure if I should say it._

"_Hmm? Come on, spit it out." Axel said, looking at me._

_I looked up and gave a smile, finally beginning to understand. "Sora… I'm sure he can find the answer. He _is_ me after all…"_

_Axel blinked at that, caught off-guard, before he gave a small grin. "Heh… that's true." Then, after a few moments of us just sitting in comfortable silence, he pulled out a sea-salt ice cream bar out of nowhere and held it out to me. "Here… might as well make this just like one of our old visits, right?"_

_I gave a chuckle, I remember making a wish like this before. I took the ice cream, thankful for it, even if it was just a dream. I was happy to be able to speak to Axel one last time before both of us had to go. "It's funny… it felt like months since I last saw you, Axel."_

"_Oh?" Axel gave me a devilish grin, ruffling my hair playfully. "I didn't know you missed me _that _much, Roxas! Why, it's almost like you _cared_ about my well being."_

_I rolled my eyes at him, shoving his hand off of my head. "Of course I cared about you! You and Xion were my only friends during my time out here. Not just you guys, but even Hayner, Pence and Olette… we'd all hang out here, eating sea-salt ice cream, watching the sunset, it was home alright."_

_Axel paused, giving me an odd look… Oh… right- guess he forgot about Xion. "...Yeah, I guess so- it really takes me back, you know? Since we first met the day you got your new name… You were a real zombie back then, you know that Roxas?"_

"_Yeah, I know. You told me that a lot too." I chuckled, remembering future Lea saying that when he first rescued me from Xehanort. "But maybe it was for the better that way, you know? I don't think we'd be as close as we are now if I wasn't."_

"_Heh… yeah, maybe not." Axel chuckled, biting off a corner of his own ice cream. "After all, Xemnas might not have asked me to babysit you if you could do the everyday stuff…"_

"_That's true, especially since Xemnas has… nevermind." I don't think I should tell Axel that Xemnas has Terra's body- it certainly would explain why he's looking for Ven in Castle Oblivion or why he's talking to armor as he told me, but if Axel really does remember everything as Lea, it might be wise not to spoil everything._

"_Come on, don't leave me hanging!" Axel pouted, giving me a slightly annoyed look._

_I gave him a chuckle and sighed, as much as I wanted to spend more time here with him, I knew I had to go soon. "Sorry Axel, maybe you'll find out some other time. But I better go… Sora's waiting for me."_

_Axel paused at that, his expression growing somber and… a little sad, too. "Yeah… I guess he is." Then he paused, raising an eyebrow as he stared at me. "Wait… what do you mean, 'some other time'? It's not like I'll be doing anything else after this, unlike you!"_

_I gave a chuckle, if only he knew. "So you'd think… Well, let's just say this isn't the end for you, buddy. I'm glad you're my friend, Axel, I was happy to have been there with you." My body began glowing as light began consuming me, and the same thing was happening to Axel, both of us were leaving now. I gave him a smile, not wanting him to see me cry or be upset. "I'll see you… Axel."_

_Axel blinked before giving me a small grin. "Heh… always one for hiding your feelings, huh buddy? Alright then…" He finished the last bite of ice cream and tossed the stick away. "See you around… partner." As he said this, I couldn't help but notice a small tear slide down his cheek… was he… crying?_

_I didn't stop smiling, but I nodded to him, my body fading away from this dream soon. "Take care of yourself… I know we'll see each other again." If only I could reach out and dry his tear… This painfully reminded me of when I had to say good-bye to Aqua, but all I could do was keep smiling as both of us were consumed by the light._

_As soon as Axel gave me his last thumbs up, I soon found myself back in the abyss, falling once again… Goodbye Axel… goodbye… I guess I… have to head back to that battlefield with Sora again. Still… at least now… I was able to make amends with the friend who cared about me the most during my life._

* * *

The Nobody stood back up and slowly opened his eyes, a faint smile on his face, his anger draining as he finally got the answers he was looking for all along. _Heh… He may be obnoxiously optimistic… but he's not that bad… Now I see why everybody, even _Ven_, chose Sora… _He glanced at Sora with a small smile as the brown-haired boy's vision began to blur. "...You make a good other." As soon as he said that, Sora disappeared, going back to reality as Roxas himself stood there for a few seconds before the platform under him disappeared and he was falling through the darkness once again as his coat slowly vanished.

_Maybe… maybe it's not so bad… being his Nobody. I guess maybe now I can rest here in peace… but… not without leaving my mark._ Roxas closed his eyes as his body glowed through the darkness… he had given Sora a hidden Drive Form- one called 'Final Form', which will allow his original self to be able to use his powers, but he'll have to find it first, Roxas wasn't going to make it _easy_ for him after all.

* * *

**DarkFoxKit: … Okay, I got the camera to reboot, finally.**

**Key2DestNE: …. *is covered in both water and reviews* R-right… let's just get this bit over quickly before we get flooded again.**

**DarkFoxKit: Good idea! … Anyways, yes, we did put in the Kingdom Hearts II's Final Mix battle with Roxas as the boss. You may have noticed the perspectives changed between Sora and Roxas during their fight as well. Oh, and that little present Roxas left for Sora is the Final Form in case you didn't know.**

**Key2DestNE: Well, I guess that's it- here's hoping we were close enough to the original story for it to feel like it, yet still made something unique! ...Aaaand now to the reviews… *gulp***

**DarkFoxKit: Ooooh boy, we've got a lot to cover. thekhfan, hey, the games themselves pulled at our heartstrings- so it's only fair we do that too! Besides, it was pretty obvious it was going to be a sad goodbye with Roxas from the very beginning. And heh… thanks for the compliment, we've learned a lot since our first fanfics. And- ooh, look Key, you've got a fanboy! ;)**

**Key2DestNE: S-shut up! *blushes in embarrassment* CatLoverx33… weeeell, we can't say anything about that- whether yes or no. It's up to you! Ultima-owner, sadly the secret boss isn't in this fanfic- Roxas's adventures within the past are over.**

**DarkFoxKit: Spiderfan626, well actually there's two if you count the epilogue- but in a sense, this is technically the last 'chapter' of the story. And… wait, what? I've never heard of Birth By Sleep Volume 2- they're making another one? *looks to Key***

**Key2DestNE: *is on the computer* Uh… hmm…. apparently it IS real, but it's just a trailer at the end of the Final Mix version of BBS- there's nothing being truly done with it so far. Well… we might use that, we might not- right now, we're not really sure since there's absolutely no info about it. Antex… yeah, I think it's okay if you hug Fox while you cry. :3**

**DarkFoxKit: What? Am I THAT huggable? And you and everyone else were crying by the end of that last chapter. Dragon Silhouette, yes, yes she does get the saddest ending. FlightfootKeyseeker, well information on how time passes in the dark realm is unknown, but I assume maybe time doesn't pass as noticeably as it does in the realm of light.**

**Key2DestNE: It's certainly possible… Oracle's Song, yeah, sorry about the wrong song title- it never officially got a name, so yeah… And I guess some of the complicated matters didn't need to be so, but this is ROXAS. He's got a confusing life no matter where he is. *chuckles***

**DarkFoxKit: Timpani Bleck, yes, we did- after all, it seemed to be the best way for Roxas to leave. And good, the point at the end was to make our readers cry after all, glad you liked it so much! … Psst, Key, we better find a new location.**

**Key2DestNE: Agreed… *gulp* This won't be good. Oracion de las Estrellas *cough* still a long name *cough*, sorry… Roxas isn't getting any heart- we're going full canon, as you can tell. But as you can see, he did fight with Sora in KH2- that's good, right? …Right?**

**DarkFoxKit: Elizabeth0058, heh… Well, who else could it be by this point? Did nobody see Roxas holding his Keyblade in reverse like Ven does during that battle with Terranort? I guess you were all too busy crying at the end by that time to really care. And I'm only guessing here, but I'm sensing you really want a sequel?**

**Key2DestNE: *dryly* By this point they ALL want a sequel… Elizabeth, we MAY do one- we're still thinking about it. KPGirl… yeah, sorry we made you so sad- but I guess that means we're doing something right, eh? *sweatdrops***

**DarkFoxKit: Tjfanfics99, Uh well… I don't know, we're both kinda going to take a break from Kingdom Hearts for a bit after this, but we might- who knows? NightPegasus13… note to self… don't ever tick off NightPegasus13…**

**Key2DestNE: Agreed… Maddening Tumult, that's… actually a good idea! Huh. Still… you'll just have to wait and see what happens next chapter before we even consider doing that. Shiranai Atsune, well… it's still canon Roxas- there's nothing we can do about that…**

**DarkFoxKit: Speculator, yes, I'm sure everyone who read this had their hearts aching. And well… Aqua may had to have wander again since, with no memory of Roxas, she didn't know where to go anymore or why she was on that beach, or why she was crying in the first place.**

**Key2DestNE: And either way… sorry- no happy ending, really… As you could tell, Roxas got closure… but that's kind of it.**

**DarkFoxKit: Well, it's not that bad of an ending… Anyways, that's it for the mountain load of reviews. I am DarkFoxKit, this is Key2DestNE, and we look forward to hearing, and hiding, from you.**


	27. Epilogue: Reunion

**DarkFoxKit: *sniffles* Well… we've reached… the end. I can't believe it felt so long yet so short since we posted that prologue way back in August.**

**Key2DestNE: I know, right? It's such a bitter way to end things! And yet… everything must eventually draw to a close…**

**DarkFoxKit: Now I know a lot of you are begging for a sequel, heck most of you are DEMANDING it, but come on guys- we weren't planning on a sequel when we wrote this…. We might do one, but we have to think about a plot and the character to use.**

**Key2DestNE: Exactly- so if there ever is a sequel to this, you all will at LEAST have to wait a bit longer than before!**

**DarkFoxKit: Maybe we will do one, maybe we won't- maybe we may even do a tie-in arc with Roxas's Story, but that's for another time. Anyways, time to head on into the epilogue.**

**Key2DestNE: Right- we don't own Kingdom Hearts, that's for Square Enix and Disney! All we own is our own headcanon and this story.**

* * *

**Epilogue: Reunion**

The blond-haired boy continued to fall through darkness until his eyes slowly opened, noticing another familiar Dive to the Heart slowly appearing far below him. Roxas blinked in confusion before he heard the voice in his head again. _"Heh… Well then, it certainly _took_ you long enough, didn't it?" _It was as clear as the fight against Terranort, despite sounding as faint as possible when Roxas had first fused with his original self.

Roxas looked down at the platform, seeing Ven's picture on it, and in one of the pictures beside him had Roxas's face on it. The Nobody's eyes widened before he gave a faint smile. _Heh… I'm surprised it took me THIS long to finally realize just who it was I was talking to… _He skillfully spun in midair, beginning to fall feet first. _After all… I've talked to that very same voice eleven years ago…_

"_Well… what can I say? I think you also absorbed some of my naivety…" _The voice chuckled as Roxas finally landed on the platform, the Nobody looked around before he heard it again, right behind him this time. "You've come such a long way, haven't you Roxas?"

"..." Roxas slowly turned, tears in his eyes as he began to smile. "I… V-Ventus…!" _I can't believe I get to see him again… and so soon too!_

The blond-haired boy in front of his look-alike gave a happy smile, slowly nodding. "Heh… Yep. I've missed you, Roxas…" Then he smirked, pointing behind Roxas. "And I'm not the only one either! But be careful though, she's been torn between hugging you or _pummeling_ you to death for being so stupid at times."

"What?" Roxas blinked as he turned before something black suddenly tackled him to the ground in a hug! "Whoa!"

"R-Roxas! Y-you've finally found your way here!" the figure said in a female's voice, and she sounded like she's been crying a lot.

"...X-Xion?" Roxas's eyes widened as he saw the black haired girl's face, a face he never thought he'd see again. "I… but- but _how_?"

Xion sniffled, looking up at him before she began thumping her fists against her friend's chest, _hard_! "You- you _idiot_!" Tears formed in her eyes again as she continued to hit Roxas, the Nobody wincing under her punches. "I can't believe you'd _attack_ Sora like that! What were you _thinking_!?"

The punches slowly got weaker, however, as the tears began sliding down her cheeks. "I… I _said_ we'd meet again in Sora… And- and if you think that Sora using my Keyblade is an _insult_ to him, you're a bigger idiot than I thought!" She sniffled again, before hugging him again, burying her head in the crook of his neck. "I… I missed that stupidity so _much_…"

As Roxas got hugged tightly by Xion, he noticed that his friend's clothing had changed a lot, as instead of a pair of long gloves going down to her elbows under the coat, Xion now wore a red glove on her right hand- the same hand she normally held her Keyblade in- with a white stripe around the end and a yellow bracelet on her left hand, revealing her very pale skin.

Her shoes had changed too, from a pair of black feminine boots to a pair of black shoes with a white strap over some laces to keep them on her feet and the collar of said shoes turned down to reveal a white inside layer. On her feet she wore light green socks, looking very similar in color to her favorite flavor of ice cream.

It wasn't just what covered her hands and feet that had changed, either- her coat seemed to have disappeared, being replaced with dark blue short shorts on her lower half, a white belt hanging loosely around them, and three layers of clothes on the upper half of her body. The one closest to Xion's skin was a pink tank top, only noticeable by the next layer, a hoodie the same color as her socks and unzipped at the bottom, and the top layer, a black jacket with a hood, also unzipped at the bottom.

The pockets, the shoulders, and the bottom of her jacket were all white, with an extra bit of white design at the edges of her shoulders and a black stripe on the end of the arms of her jacket. The final touch to the jacket, though, was a small 'X' attached to the zipper, which seemed familiar to Roxas, especially since it was on his own zipper.

"Uh… wow… nice change in clothes there, Xion… uh, what happened to your black coat?" Roxas asked her curiously, looking at her new clothes. _Seriously, this looks good on her… but I wasn't expecting it…_

Xion kept hugging Roxas tightly, giving one last thump to his chest and a small glare. "D-don't… don't change the subject, mister!" She sniffled, tears still on her cheeks. "You- you were such an _idiot_, fighting Sora like that! I was so worried for you both- don't you realize that you two are more alike than you think!?"

"... So you saw that battle, huh?" Roxas sighed, he didn't like that his friends had seen him at his worst like that. "Listen, Xion… Ventus… I'm sorry, I just… after everything's that happened, I just snapped, especially after losing Axel like that…"

Ven sighed, slowly nodding. "Hey… I understand perfectly." He gave a small smile, shrugging. "But hey… it needed to happen, so that you'd finally let go of your jealousy and hatred of your other half." Xion didn't say anything, still bawling into his neck before Ven coughed to get her attention. "Xion… I believe there was something that you wanted to say to Roxas?"

The Nobody blinked before looking at Xion, and he cringed a little, thinking she was going to scold him more. "H-hey, I said I was sorry, I was just-"

Xion suddenly put a finger on his lips, stopping the boy in his surprise. She gave a tear-filled smile… but to Roxas's surprise, it was a happy one. "Roxas… I-I just want you to know… I was there too- I saw everything you did, eleven years in the past." Roxas's eyes widened in shock at that, and she gave him a jokingly angry pout. "Hey, did you forget my last words to you _already_? I _told_ you that I came from _both_ you and Sora! I was with you all along- you just didn't notice!"

"Y-yeah, you _did_ tell me that…" Roxas said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "But I guess I was just upset that I had forgotten you and… that I was the one who ended you, Xion. That really_ did_ hurt when I remembered…"

Xion nodded, frowning sadly at the reminder. "Y-yeah… I know…" Then she hugged him again, murmuring in his ear, "But it had to be done… I knew one of us eventually had to disappear at that point… so if you had been the one to end at _my_ hand, it would have hurt the one who remained that much more…"

"I'm just glad to see you're still here, Xion… I thought I lost you _forever_." Roxas said to her with some tears of his own, but he quickly wiped them away, trying to stay strong. "And…" He turned to Ven, giving a small smile. "I'm surprised that you're still here, Ventus. You haven't aged a day since I last saw you eleven years ago…"

Ven smirked, gently shoving Roxas's shoulder that didn't currently have a Replica nuzzling it. "Hey, I had to stay here to see _you_ again, Roxas! And it's _Ven_, no calling me Ventus- it makes me feel _old_ to hear my best friend call me that!"

"Well… aren't you technically 27 years old now?" Roxas asked with a smirk as Ven rolled his eyes with a grin on his face.

"Well if you want to be _technical_, I guess I am, but I don't think my body's aged at all because my heart's missing." Ven said, crossing his arms.

Roxas chuckled, but then a curious question popped into his head, and he blinked. "Wait… Ven, why aren't you asleep? I thought you came in here because you had to sleep for a while."

Ven nodded, giving a small shrug. "Well, honestly, I probably woke up a little bit before Sora's first adventure- so I've been awake for about three years now, I just haven't been able to get out because Sora kinda forgot I was in here, at least consciously."

Roxas gave a sigh. _What a knucklehead. _The Nobody shook his head in bemusement before he said, frowning thoughtfully, "How long have you been with me, Ven?"

The blond-haired boy from eleven years in the past smiled at that, putting a hand on Roxas's shoulder- the same one he playfully shoved moments ago. "Ever since the beginning Roxas… I'd never leave your side if I could help it. I've watched you since that first day you came into existence, because Sora… well, you know the story by now. And I've seen what you've been through, a lot of it made sense now- how you act, why you fight like you do… and I have to say, that battle against Sora was very intense." He then grinned a bit, crossing his arms as he added, "But if it was you and me against each other, it'd be a _lot_ more epic!"

"Hey, don't make it sound like it was a battle for fun." Roxas grumbled, crossing his own arms with a small pout.

"But… seriously Roxas, you've really come a long way since that first day, and the same goes for while you remained in the past. And for that, I'm proud of you." Ven smiled at his look-alike.

Roxas blinked before blushing a bit in embarrassment- it was like getting praise from your teacher for graduating. "Heh… B-but, how were you able to take me back into the past? I don't think time travel is that easy, especially since that younger Xehanort made it seem like it's very complex."

Ven shrugged, putting his head behind his hands. "Well, you're right- it _wasn't_ easy. But… I knew then was the right moment, especially since Axel had made that Corridor of Darkness. I was able to put my own light in it, and when it was balanced, I was able to have it take you back in time, to the only other place capable of that kind of balance- the Land of Departure." Then he gave a chuckle. "And of course, it had to be where my past self was to make it easier. _Now_ I know why you landed on top of me that first day we met- because my _future_ self had no other choice!"

Xion smiled, shaking her head in amusement. "Boys…" Then she perked up, holding up a cooler. "Hey, Roxas, guess what Ven found in here- never-ending sea salt ice cream!"

Ven turned green at that, shuddering. "And I remember you trying to shove it down my throat when you learned I was getting a bit sick of it, Xion…"

Roxas almost snorted in laughter at that, shaking his head in amusement. "Heh… that's really great, Xion. But do you think maybe we could eat it somewhere a bit nicer? I mean, no offense Ven, but just standing on a stained glass platform isn't exactly the most… _comfortable_ place to eat an ice-cream."

Ven chuckled, nodding. "Yeah, actually… I had to figure this out the hard way, but we can actually make this place look like any world I've visited- and now, we can do the same for both of you!"

Xion blinked at that before she pouted, crossing her arms. "Aww, Ven, why did you never tell _me_ that? I would've liked to eat it on the clock tower, like I'm _used_ to eating it there!"

Roxas gave a chuckle at those two, it seems Xion had already met Ventus after she faded away, so the two are already on really good terms. "Well, how about we go to Destiny Islands during the sunset? That's the place that tied us all together in the end after all."

Xion and Ven blinked at that before they all slowly nodded, smiling. "Yeah…" Ven put a hand on both former Organization members, beginning to concentrate before they finally all appeared at the palm tree on Destiny Islands. "Well, here we are- Destiny Islands." He smiled at Xion, crossing his arms. "You going to pull out that cooler again? Just as long as you don't force feed me twenty of them again, I'm good!"

"Oh come on, don't be such a big baby, Ven! It wasn't that bad!" Xion pouted, crossing her arms jokingly.

Roxas chuckled as he pulled out three sea-salt ice cream pops. "I think one at a time is enough. I'm just happy that I can eat ice cream again with my friends… it's only too bad Axel couldn't be here to enjoy it with us."

Ven nodded, leaning back against the tree with a small smile. "Yeah… I saw how you both connected with him- but hey, what am I, chopped liver?" He smirked at them, crossing his arms playfully.

"Of course not! You're the twin brother I never had!" Roxas chuckled as he put an arm around Ven's shoulders. "I don't care if you're older, we both know I'm the more mature one out of the two of us!"

Ven smirked as he poked Roxas's face, pushing the boy away. "Hey, you're one to talk, Mr. Anger Management- at least _I_ didn't attack my original self!"

"Because you _are_ the original self! But technically you _did_ attack yourself if you count Vanitas being you, and he _did_ attack you, more than once, so you have no room to talk!" the Nobody said with a sly smile.

Ven blushed in embarrassment, glaring at Roxas for that comment. "S-shut up, Roxas! You _know_ it was a completely different story!"

Xion giggled, popping up between the two and putting her arms around them. "Hey, boys, relax and eat your ice cream~ this is the first time we've all been together like this- be quiet and enjoy it, this will never happen for the first time again and we all know it!"

Roxas rolled his eyes, but he gave her a smile, putting another arm around her and glancing down at his friend. "By the way Xion… you still haven't told me where you got these new clothes."

Xion smirked, gently booping Roxas's nose with her pointer finger. "Well, we have all the time in the world for me to tell you about that- but it's quite the story, to be sure!"

"Yeah, something tells me you've been through a lot like I have, Xion- you seem a bit different than before, like almost a lot more cheery now." Roxas said with a small smile.

Xion huffed, shoving Roxas's shoulder at that. "Oh shaddup, I was cheery before!" She pouted before smirking deviously. "Besides, maybe I just had a good influence~ He learned a lot from you, after all!"

"Eh? _Who_ learned a lot from me?" Roxas asked, blinking in confusion.

Ven chuckled at Roxas's confused look, shaking his head in amusement at that. "You really do talk about Vanitas a lot, don't you Xion?"

"VANITAS!?" Roxas jumped, looking at the black-haired girl in shock. "And he wasn't a BAD influence!?"

Xion just winked, nibbling on her ice cream playfully. "Hey, like I said, I've got quite the story to tell you~ And I'm sure you're the same way, Roxas!"

Roxas pouted, crossing his arms and muttering, "But you _saw_ everything, so I don't need to tell you…"

Xion laughed at that, gently poking Roxas's nose. "Oh come on, just because I've seen it doesn't mean I don't wanna hear what _you_ thought of it~" She smirked before leaning back, still eating some of her ice cream.

Ven gave a chuckle, nudging, "And Sora would be lost without a guardian spirit helping him out every now and then. I swear, how did he even get by before? Oh right, someone else was with him too." He looked over at Xion with a smile and a small wink to Roxas.

"...Seriously, I wanna know all about what happened with you now!" Roxas frowned before sighing, knowing they wouldn't tell him just yet just to troll him a bit. He munched on his ice cream and then smiled, getting an interesting thought. "Heh, I've always wanted to do this- spend time with your friends, not have to worry about what's going to happen, actually having time to relax."

"Yeah, and we've been trying to call out to you earlier, Roxas, when you were floating in isolation, but you couldn't hear me… and Ven barely could get through to you, even then it was strained." Xion said a little softly, remembering seeing the boy floating around in darkness, alone, lost, and most likely upset.

Roxas sighed, looking up at the 'setting sun' in front of them. "Yeah… I'm sorry about that- I guess I should have been more accepting, huh? I guess… I just hadn't let go yet- it isn't that easy after all, even if you don't have a heart…"

"But Roxas, you've always had a heart." Ven spoke up from beside him, crossing his arms.

"Well, a heart that wasn't _yours_ I mean." Roxas answered with a shrug. "And anyway, I don't think my talk with Sora is completely finished yet."

"It's not?" Xion frowned, looking at him, growing worried Roxas might try to fight Sora again.

Roxas, sensing his friend's worry, quickly shook his head. "No, no, nothing like before. I just have to finish tying some loose ends with him first, the only problem is… I don't know how to get in contact with him again, last time I did, I guess I just overpowered the barrier between us- I'm not sure if I can do it again."

"What kind of loose ends, Roxas?" Ven asked his look-alike, frowning curiously.

The Nobody just gave them both a smile, shrugging. "Well… I think, as Sora's Nobody, it's his right to know what I've been through."

Both Ven and Xion blinked, before the black-haired girl smiled, nudging her friend. "Well… maybe we all can overpower the barrier together- after all, this time you won't be working alone!"

"Heh, thanks guys. But for now, I just want to relax and spend time with you two. Maybe someday I'll be able to talk to Sora again, but for now…" Roxas smiled as he watched the sunset over the horizon of the ocean- it was even more beautiful than at Twilight Town, or maybe that's how he's seeing it right now anyway. "I don't want to spoil this moment."

Ven and Xion smiled at him, and the blond-haired Nobody smiled back before they all turned to look at the sun setting again. Ven chuckled faintly, leaning back and beginning to munch on his ice cream. "You know… it may have been the end of summer vacation for you, Roxas… but it's also the beginning- the beginning of our new lives."

Xion and Roxas looked at him, before Xion said, frowning in confusion, "But when Sora finds your body, wouldn't you just leave and go back to living again?"

"Yeah, I don't know how much longer you'd be here." Roxas said as he remembered his own temporary stay in the past, the hardest part was saying good-bye to his new friends.

Ven just gave them a confident smile, shaking his head. "I don't think I'll be leaving you two completely, not forever. After all, I can't help but think that Sora will also find a way to give you two your own lives again."

"Really? Is that even possible?" Xion asked with a hopeful smile.

Ven shrugged, giving them a small smirk. "Heh… I've seen Sora grow as a Keyblade Wielder- just like me, he won't let others suffer for his own happiness. He already gave me a miracle, twice in fact, he saved my heart when it was already beyond saving." Roxas and Xion blinked at that before Ven shrugged, a small smile on his face. "If he'd do that… I'm _positive_ he'll do that for you."

"Well… if you think so, then I know Sora will find a way." Xion said with a smile of her own. "Right, Roxas?"

Roxas chuckled as he said, shrugging, "From what I've seen, the knucklehead is way too nice and trusting for his own good sometimes, but I _can_ believe that he can perform miracles. After all, he also saved Riku when he too was beyond saving. Maybe he _can_ give a Nobody and a replica their own lives too, who knows? But only the future will tell, right?"

Ven nodded, munching on his ice cream again. "Yeah… only the future will tell."

Xion gave a small laugh as she took a bite of her ice cream too. Roxas smiled at her and Ven as the three of them looked out into the horizon, watching the calm and beautiful sunset, hoping for a better future for all three of them together, along with Sora and their other friends.

* * *

**KZZZZZT! BZZZZT! … Computer on…. data search… Terra… error, Terra does not exist in these files… Try again? … Searching… Data confirmed… Unknown entity in the badlands. KZZZZZT! … Data showing files now.**

The screen showed a desert, covered with craters and pillars of rock sticking out of the ground in random intervals- and in the middle of all of this was a kneeling armored figure with a cape, a large Keyblade being the only thing preventing it from falling to the ground.

The armored figure was silent for what could have been minutes, hours, even days, before a large portal opened up, and three figures walked out- a duck, a humanoid dog, and a brown-haired boy. They paused, looking around in surprise and confusion, before a gust of wind blowing around the armored figure brought their attention to it.

The armored figure seemed to just be still, almost like a statue with its cape being the only thing to move, wildly fluttering in the wind. Then it began to speak… Well, it didn't talk, but its' mind seemed to be able to communicate with them. _"...Aqua… Ven…"_

The three other figures seemed startled by that, shown by the brown-haired boy summoning a fancy-looking Keyblade to his hands. "W-wha!? Who the heck are _you_!?" he demanded, still seeming a bit spooked.

The armored figure was silent for a moment, still as unmoving as ever. _"...A Keyblade… This feels so familiar. Maybe he's the one…? …Hold on… something's different… Who are you?" _The brown-haired boy frowned in confusion, narrowing his eyes slightly as the armored figure tilted its head up with a loud creak of metal, beginning to examine him. _"...We've met before… I can feel it… But no… you are not the one. You are not the one I chose… Are you perhaps… that boy? …"_

* * *

**KARRRRZ!**

"_No… I'm wrong… it can't be. But… if you are… not that boy… then who…? … Xeh…ano…rt? … Is that you? You-"_

**BZZZZT! KRRRRRZT!**

"_... Xehanort…. why have you returned…? … Xehanort… _Xehanort_… XEHANORT!" _The armored figure suddenly began to stand up, methodically pulling its Keyblade out of the ground!

The brown-haired boy yelped, gripping the Keyblade tighter. "W-wha!? Hey, I'm no-"

**KRRRRRZT! …Data lost. Rebooting… Now rebooting… Bzzzt! Data found… files shown. Continuing video…**

The area around the warriors was almost destroyed, entire plateaus demolished and turned into tiny piles of rubble. The brown haired boy, the duck and the humanoid dog were barely standing, but they were on guard, the brown haired boy's clothes were changed, they were now silver, black, and he had two Keyblades floating behind him- Oblivion and Oathkeeper. The armored figure seemed as calm as ever as it stood in front of them.

"_...I see… So that's what it was. I felt like… I had forgotten… something important. But… now I remember…" _The armored figure almost sounded like it was chuckling softly here, clearly creeping the other three out. _"…Those Keyblades… _he_ used them too. …My apologies…"_

It remained silent for a few moments more before it suddenly turned its Keyblade back to the ground, kneeling in its original position despite the various dents and the occasional scorch mark on its armor. _"I didn't break… my promise… Roxas." _it muttered to itself, clearly confusing the ot-

* * *

**KRZZZZZZZZZZZT! *CLICK* The file has been corrupted. Unable to continue viewing.** **Do you wish to view another file? ….. Aqua. Searching…. Searching… Data not found… Try again? …. 'Door to Darkness, Aqua.' Searching….. File found. Viewing file now.**

The video screen suddenly showed a dark and lonely looking beach. A lone figure in a black coat stared out into the distance at a far away light, and he may have remained there, motionless, if a woman covered in odd-looking clothing hadn't slowly walked up beside him, frowning in confusion. "...Who _are_ you?"

The figure turned to her, as if just noticing her. "Hmm? …I do not remember who I am nor whence I came. Everything has been washed away in the sea and the tides- and it's not often I get visitors."

The woman frowned, shaking her head. "Please… call me Aqua. Why are you sitting here all alone, in the realm of darkness? How did you get here?"

The figure chuckled softly, turning back to the beach. "Well… I may not remember much, but I _do_ remember that this is my second time on these shores. Everything else, other than a single memory, has been carried away by whatever currents carried me here."

Aqua sighed, turning to look at the sea herself. "...That's too bad. I know how it feels to temporarily forget something… even if you don't _want_ to forget." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a strange-looking charm. It looked like a star, except it was made of white glass with an odd symbol in the middle. "...I know I've been here a long time- wandering here through the endless hours, unable to escape…"

"Well… I _do _recall a boy- possibly the only memory I have left." the figure suddenly said, catching Aqua's attention. "This boy went around using an object called the 'Keyblade'." The blue-haired woman's eyes widened, turning to him, and he gave a small chuckle. "As for why I bring this up… You remind me a lot of him- you both seem true to your friends, and kind. This boy traveled to many worlds to keep the light safe…"

"..." Aqua seemed a bit happier, and she got to her knees. "W-wait a sec- is his name Terra or Ventus? Or… or maybe even Roxas?"

"... I do not know the first two names. However, that last one does sound familiar." The man spoke, perking up Aqua's hopes even more. "However, it was not him I was referring to."

"..." The blue-haired woman sighed, turning to look back at the shores. "...I should have known… They're still trapped, just like me…" She gripped onto the white charm in her hands as if it was a lifeline, holding it to her chest. "That is… if one of them still _exists_ anymore…"

"May I ask… why is that charm you are holding so dear to you?" the man asked curiously.

Aqua blinked before she gave a small smile, tears trickling down her cheeks. "It's… something to remind me of _him_." She hesitated for a moment before pulling out a coat, seeming to be well cared-for and very similar to what the other man wore at that very moment. "I-I don't want to forget again… those first few hours when I forgot… they were enough for a _lifetime_ to me…"

"..." The figure slowly nodded, crossing his arms thoughtfully. "...I see. You say you had forgotten him… how did you remember then?"

Aqua closed her eyes, letting the tears pour even faster down her cheeks as she held the coat to her chest gently, as if holding a precious vase. "It wasn't easy… but… he left me two items to remember him by- a good luck charm he wanted me to send into the ocean for the future… and this coat." She opened her eyes once more, staring at the white charm in her other hand. "He was a good friend… so I made this charm for him. It's the same as the one he had me send into the ocean… but different at the same time- just like him."

"...And this friend of yours… is he Roxas?" Aqua slowly nodded, glancing up at the man sitting on a rock next to her once more. "Heh… I wonder how long it's been since I've met him, along with the boy who saved the light… at least a year now, perhaps longer." He slowly raised a hand, staring at it as he continued. "...Back then, my heart was clouded with vengeance. I did terrible things… to both of them, along with their friends. I brought unhappiness to more lives than one… so I felt something must be done. Was… that why?"

"Was that why… you're here?" Aqua asked him, frowning in confusion.

The figure sighed, shaking his head. "No… was that why I caused them so much pain? A means of clearing my conscience? Or perhaps, out of a more _scholarly_ instinct? …While the boy slept his long sleep, I hid half of the results of my research inside him, where it might best serve a purpose- and when I first met Roxas myself, I did the exact same thing to him, transplanting the other half inside him, to reunite the pieces within the first boy. Then something odd happened to Roxas… I'm not sure what happened, but he seemed to have disappeared for a few minutes at best."

Aqua blinked before she gave a small smile, apparently realizing what that meant. "Roxas must've been with us during those 'few minutes' he was gone…" she muttered to herself, soft enough for the man to not hear her.

The man continued, looking at the waves as they lapped at his boots. "And when he had returned… he seemed _changed_, and for the better. I am not sure as to precisely what happened to the data I hid inside him… but I believe they indeed reunited within the first boy's heart. And, perhaps… _he_ can set things right. A boy who touches so many hearts- he could open the right door, and save all the lives I managed to ruin… including the second boy himself, Roxas… So many are still waiting to be awoken for their birth by sleep- even me, and even you."

Aqua had to know who this boy was, and she slowly turned to him. "Please… tell me, who is this boy?"

"... His name is…" The man paused for a second before he spoke the name to her. "Sora- Roxas's original self."

Aqua couldn't help but let out a tear… she didn't know why really, but she did remember meeting a young boy named Sora back on Destiny Islands. Could it be? Is it that same boy? "Sora… so you're the same one… The one who fo-"

* * *

**KRZZZZZZZZT! BZZZZZZZT! *CLICK* File is corrupted. Is there anymore you wish to view? ….**

"Heh… I guess it's true then. Only Sora has what it takes to set them all free. There's only one thing… I don't know if he's ready yet." the mysterious figure said as it began to type something else into the computer.

**Re-writing the data…. Data is re-written. Is there anymore you wish to do? …..**

"Good- maybe then I can see for myself if they're ready." The camera panned out to show a figure dressed in a black coat. The figure then pulled back its' hood, revealing his face to be Roxas, but it's not the real Roxas- that one was still within Sora. "Let's see if the King will get my message." Data Roxas gave a wink to the camera before shutting it off and the screen went black.

**The End**

* * *

**DarkFoxKit: *whistles* That ending… Yes, that is Data Roxas from Re:Coded, and yes that is the bridge to Re:Coded since it comes after Kingdom Hearts II. We just thought it'd be a clever way to show you what happened with Terra- The Lingering Will and Aqua wandering in the realm of darkness. It seems they do still remember Roxas after all.**

**Key2DestNE: And don't forget Ven and Xion coming out of the woodworks! Nice way of wrapping things up there, huh~?**

**DarkFoxKit: Yeah- hey, you guy didn't think we wouldn't give our favorite Nobody a happy ending, or at least a decent one, right? We're not THAT cruel- so he reunited with Ven and Xion, and Aqua and Terra hadn't forgotten about him after all.**

**Key2DestNE: Right! Now then, on to the reviews… here goes nothing… *gulp***

**DarkFoxKit: Spiderfan626, well I hope the epilogue didn't disappoint! And we have to see what the Volume 2 is before we can decide if we should do it or not, and that might be a while. TetraOfTheInternet, no! DON'T REFLOOD THE PLACE! *sigh* Well I'm glad you enjoyed it at least. ssjzhoan, we might do a sequel, though it's not guarantee that Roxas will be the main character again. And we already finished the story before we posted it, that's why the updates were constant. Unicorn, buddy…. no more updates, this is the last one.**

**Key2DestNE: unicron, buddy, the series is OVER- no more updates. Alright? Keep that in mind this review. Blue, yeah, the ending of Roxas's story was meant to pluck at your heartstrings~ As for the epilogue… well you got your wish, at least! :3 CatLoverx33, Roxas gets the worst of luck- no idea, but it's fun to love him because of it!**

**DarkFoxKit: Thekhfan, aww, it's good to see that this story has become one of your favorites! We try our best to deliver the best story we can do. And I don't know if it's a MASTERPIECE, but it certainly is one of our best work. We're very happy that you enjoyed it. And yes, we listened to Roxas's music while typing it too! FlightfootKeyseeker, as we said before, we made this close to the canon, and made some of his speech in KH2 make more sense that way.**

**Key2DestNE: Antex, yeah, it is sad but well-written… As you can tell, Aqua and Terra DID keep their memories of Roxas, if not well. But I'm glad you want a sequel so much- it means we did something right! *grins* KPGirl1227, I'm glad to see you loved this so much too- we aim to please!**

**DarkFoxKit: Well, NightPegasus13, I hope this was fast enough for you. Fantasysword92375, well you seem to have a lot of things to say here. Although maybe you should've saved your 'final review' for this after the epilogue was posted. Because I think this is the happiest ending we could give to Roxas without breaking canon. And I'm sure a lot of fans will go on a RIOT if they don't bring Roxas, Xion and Terra back in KH3. I know it'll be hard to wait, but we all must do it, good things come to those who wait, right? Since all of Disney properties are available now, let's hope we get to see some Pixar characters in the worlds.**

**Key2DestNE: crazycatlady, yeah, sadly this story had to end at some time… WAH! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO ADD MORE TEARS!? Heh… still, at least you liked Roxas's character! Maybe a bit too much, but you liked it! And we even made a fan of the Wayfinder Trio out of you! As for a sequel… weeell, we have to think about that… *sweatdrops* Timpani Bleck, yeah, sorry about hearing DiZ talk like that, but at least now you can be broken more each time you hear it! :3**

**DarkFoxKit: Shiranai Atsune… Key, we better get another boat. N1ght-13, I think most people do, because Sora seems a bit TOO happy while Roxas has a bit more of a, ahem, 'realistic' personality. Oracle's Song, yes I did unlock the Sky Jukebox, thank you very much- doesn't mean I'll memorize every single title to the song. I just remember seeing on YouTube the title is usually called 'I Don't Want to Say Good-bye', and it stuck okay?**

**Key2DestNE: I'm pretty sure the fight against Roxas is extremely tough- after all, it's Roxas! The one person that Sora is an equal to-of course he'll have a tough time with him! Terra really does need more love, which is why we tried to fit him with Roxas when we could, although it isn't easy because of his, well… loner personality. Blue- oh wow, you're back already! Well, I'm glad you enjoyed us bringing you into the KH series! This wasn't the best place to start, but at least it worked.**

**DarkFoxKit: Wait, so WE got you into the Kingdom Hearts series? … Wow, that's really awesome! I'm glad you liked it enough that it got you into the fandom! :D Last but not least, Speculator… Uh, well unfortunately this wasn't a Vanitas epilogue, sorry to disappoint, but we needed some way to tie in the ending with and onwards. And I know, it's so sad that it's coming to an end! But everything must end eventually, so be happy that we have a completed story, a good one at that! It was hard but we enjoyed it. *nudges Key* Have any last words to say to our readers?**

**Key2DestNE: ...Apart from you all have taken the words 'cry me a river' and went too far with it? *sweatdrops* Yeah, actually- thank you all for joining us on this experience. It was a pleasure to do this with you all, and I hope you enjoyed something we worked super hard on before releasing!**

**DarkFoxKit: We hope to be able to do another Kingdom Hearts story soon and that you all will enjoy it as much as you did with this one! We may put up an alert or something if we ever do- also, Xion's clothes? That MAY have a bit of a foreshadowing for a… ahem… future project, so we hope you guys look forward to that if it ever comes to be. We thank you all for taking your time reading this story and leaving encouraging reviews, and we hope you enjoyed this story. And now… I am DarkFoxKit, this is Key2DestNE, we look forward to hearing from you guys, and until next story, good-bye!**


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